The good, the weird and the unusual: Hamilton Zinefest

After a Covid break, Hamilton Zinefest is back on track for 2021. Photo / Supplied

Self-published pamphlets, comics, poetry journals and photo essays and their creators from all over the North Island will be showcased at Hamilton Zinefest on May 8 at The Meteor.

Established in 2014, the Zinefest features dozens of poets, comics creators, fringe politicos, collagists, illustrators, writers and artists who will bring their work for swapping or selling.

Originally, zine comes from the word fanzine which was a term invented in the 1940s to describe amateur science fiction fan-magazines.

Zinefest co-organiser Bryce Galloway says: "One of the great things about zines is that their short-run amateur status allows their creators to explore the weird, the unusual, the idiosyncratic, without having to worry that the oddity will be too much for advertisers or a broad market of paying customers."

Artists, writers, poets, illustrators, bookmakers, artists, designers, and printers at one of the previous Zinefests. Photo / Supplied

The Hamilton 2021 Zinefest features stallholders from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North and Wellington.

Hamilton contemporary visual artist Craig McClure will be among the creatives behind one of the stalls. He says: "My zines are often just a smash up of artworks I have made for exhibitions over the last year or two, or tests. Zines are the invitation to do whatever you want, say whatever you want and getting together with other creators is really special."

Other local zinesters and stallholders who will be Hamilton are takatāpui poet Essa May Ranapiri who was a featured writer in the Poetry NZ Yearbook 2020, local freelance illustrator and graphic designer Jim Higgs and Hamilton neo-expressionist artist Oliver Stewart.

Takatapui poet Essa May Ranapiri will be one of the stallholders at this year's Hamilton Zinefest. Photo / Supplied

Away from the zine market space will be a screening of a short doco on the history of Wellington Zinefest with Milly Hampton and Caitlyn Lynch and a talk on the running of local artist-run-space Never (formerly Skinroom) by artist and curator Eliza Webster.

Also, there will be a presentation on the Filipino punk and DIY scenes by Noah Romero.

Best-of-the-fest zine will be announced at the after party at 8pm at The Meteor, with entertainment provided by Hamilton bands Limn and Pilllcutter, and Auckland's Pumice.

The Zinefest market will be open from 10am until 3pm. For more information click here.