Zine Fest – Memphis Flyer

This year’s Zine Fest has a new component — the Memphis Listening Lab/WYXR inaugural Record Swap. According to Zine Fest curator Erica Qualy, this is such a perfect pairing because the birth of zines as we know them today was started as a response to the punk music culture in the 1970s, when copiers were made available commercially. People started creating fanzines and raising awareness in a way they hadn’t been able to before.

Qualy remembers hopping on the zine scene more than a few years later. “My friend and I first found out about zines in high school while browsing at the local library. We came across the book Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines by Francesca Lia Block. We were entranced.”

She says they immediately went home and started brainstorming. They pulled an all-nighter until their first zine was born. Nearly 20 years later, Qualy is curating Zine Fest 6.

“Funny how seemingly small instances in your life can be the building blocks for a future,” says Qualy, inviting the public to join the revolution. “You don’t need to wait for anyone else to publish your stack of poems, your short stories about alien invasions, your comic about the dog and cat duo that saved the world. You can do it yourself. Make a zine today.”

Zine Fest 6 will be held in the upstairs Central Atrium of Crosstown Concourse, with DIY zine-making stations and vendor booth spaces.

The record swap will take place on the bottom floor of the Central Atrium. The Memphis Listening Lab, outside vendors, and the radio station inside Crosstown Concourse, WYXR 91.7 FM, will be selling music and merchandise.

Record Swap & Zine Fest 6, Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse, Saturday, Sept. 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., free.

Erica Qualy, an artist who dabbles in various forms of visual and performing arts, has been making zines since she was in high school.

“My friend and I were at the library, and we saw a book [Zine Scene: The Do It Yourself Guide to Zines by Francesca Lia Block and Hillary Carlip] about how to make zines,” she says. “A lot of the bands I admired growing up made zines. So, it just hit us. We thought, ‘Wow, this is so awesome.'”

The pair went home and created their first zine, complete with word finds, advice columns, and other quirky content fillers.

Crosstown Arts

Erica Qualy, organizer of Memphis Zine Fest V

Fast forward to 2019, and now Qualy is organizing Memphis Zine Fest V at Crosstown Concourse and working on the fourth issue of her zine — Facts, Advice, & Things to think about! — filled with poetry one-liners.

“When I first moved here from Minneapolis to go to Memphis College of Art, I realized there wasn’t really a zine scene here, or, if there was one, I didn’t know where it was,” she says. “So, I wanted to help provide a space where zinesters could come out and share their wares. Mary Jo Karimnia, a fellow Memphis artist, listened to my ideas for this event, and she helped me bring the event to life via Story Booth and Crosstown Arts.”

This year’s Zine Fest will feature the works of several zine makers, including various established zine makers and new makers who attended last week’s Youth Zine-Making Workshop.

Memphis Zine Fest V, Crosstown Concourse – Central Atrium, Friday, July 19th, 5-8 p.m., Free.