Community in Print: A Practical Introduction to Zine-Making

How can we build community through publishing? Join us at Conway Hall for a creative weekend, getting hands-on and exploring the power of zine-making in telling our own stories on our own terms.

Taking inspiration from Conway Hall’s archive of DIY pamphlets, going back over 200 years of art and activism, these workshops will take you on a journey of the zine as a tool to protest, resist and encourage collective expression – culminating in the creation of your zines in a collaborative curatorial project.

Ioana Simion will provide a zine-making toolkit, featuring materials and take-home guides, share inspiring examples of community-based and activist zines, and lead a curatorial zine-making project on collaborative publishing. Materials will be provided, although you’re welcome to bring your own magazines, stickers, photos and newspapers to use. No previous experience is required to attend these sessions.

This weekend will be an opportunity to explore the ways in which historic archiving can inform personal archiving, where you will be able to access areas of Conway Hall’s rich historic collections not open to the public, with an introduction from Conway Hall’s Programmes Manager Glenys Adelusi.

PROGRAMME:

Session 1: Introduction to Zine-Making: Archiving, Protest & the Printed Page

Saturday 29 November, 12pm – 2pm

• Learn about the history of zines as tools for activism, resistance, and community care, drawing from feminist, queer, punk,and anti-racist publishing traditions.
• Explore how zines intersect with archives, lived experience, and political imagination.
• Be introduced to a practical zine-making toolkit, including folding techniques, collage methods, and layout tips usinganalogue materials.
• Create your own mini zine, and contribute a page to a collaborative group zine

Session 2: Collective Publishing: Making a Community Zine

Sunday 30 November, 12pm – 2pm

Building on the creative momentum of Session 1, this session will centre on collaborative publishing as a community-building practice.

• Explore models of collective authorship and group zine curation.
• Work together to sequence, design, and assemble a collaborative zine, including cover design, pagination, and editorial structure.
• Engage in conversations about distribution, ownership, and care in community publishing.

Participants are welcome to attend either workshop days on Saturday 29th or Sunday 30th November, however it is strongly recommended to attend both to get the most out of the experience. 

Ioana Simion is a London-based artist, educator, and zine-maker working under the artistic identity of Artizine. Her socially engaged practice explores collective storytelling, alternative publishing, and playful forms of resistance. She runs creative zine-making workshops that use DIY publishing as a tool for expression, community-building, and co-creating inclusive spaces. Ioana first facilitated a zine workshop with Conway Hall in 2022, exploring their pamphlet archive, and is excited to return with this new series.

Age Recommendation:

All ages. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Price:

*A £2 venue levy is applied to each ticket purchased. This levy helps to support us in covering the costs of keeping our grade II listed building running and our doors open.*

WEEKEND TICKET (includes entry to both Saturday and Sunday workshops)

Standard £45 • Living Support £35 • Student £40 (+ £2 venue levy)

SATURDAY OR SUNDAY TICKET

Standard £30 • Living Support £20 • Student £25 (+ £2 venue levy)

Access Information

These workshops are in the Library, which is only accessible via stairs.

All the ground-floor rooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. Main Hall (street access, step-free), Brockway Room (street access, step-free), Bertrand Russell Room (street access, shallow ramp), Cafe (street access, step-free). There is also an accessible toilet on the ground floor opposite the Brockway Room.