Think of a zine as a do-it-yourself, self-published booklet that can be made from typical stationery supplies like printer paper and staples.
This Saturday, around 30 zine-makers, illustrators and comic artists will have their works on display at the Chico Zine Fair.
Six years have passed since the last zine fair happened in the city. Now, organizers at one local art space are helping breathe new life into the project.
Mattie Hinkley is president at the downtown art space, Second Cousin, which is hosting the event.
“A zine can look like anything,” Hinkley said. “A zine can be really casual and handwritten with a pencil, or it can be really glossy and beautiful and slick. It doesn't matter what it looks like. The ethos is about spreading information with your community.”
A zine’s content can range anywhere from political theory, to instructional information to personal DIY memoirs. While these small booklets saw a boom in production following the invention of the copy machine in the 1970s, Hinkley said the phenomenon dates to decades before that time.
“Zines started in the 30s. Maybe even before then, but we began to understand them in the 30s, mostly as sort of disseminations of counter cultural knowledge and information and interest,” Hinkley said.
The last Chico Zine Fair happened in 2019 at Blackbird – a now closed cafe and bookstore. Hinkley’s co-organizer, Marin Hambley, said a number of variables led to the six-year gap between the 2019 fair and this year’s event.
“COVID happened,” Hambley said. “Blackbird shut down as a business … one of the organizers left town. So it's kind of laid dormant until now.”
Hinkley hopes this zine fair can become an annual event going forward, but said the Second Cousin space is being renovated. It will soon close down temporarily, which could create some barriers.
“We're not quite sure how long construction will take,” Hinkley said. “Hopefully less than a year so we can do this again in a year, but that would be the only inhibiting factor.”
The Chico Zine Fair will happen between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Jan. 25 at 119 Main Street in downtown Chico.
The event is free and open to all ages.
