On a Saturday afternoon in the city of San Fernando, 14 mostly valley-based vendors selling their independent creations lined the Midnight Hour Records for the 818 Zine Fest.
Zines are small circulations of self-published work – stapled, folded, xeroxed, hand-stitched. These DIY (do-it-yourself) creations circumvent publishers and bring creations directly from the artist to the community.
“Zines can be anything and everything. … You can get political with them, they can be educational, they can be themed, it can be a specific subject, it can be literally anything,” said Lizette Padilla while tabling for Tia Chuchas, a nonprofit cultural center and bookstore in Sylmar.
“The one I’m working on right now is about my hair throughout the years,” added Padilla, holding up a zine with pink-stained hands that matched their pink-dyed hair.
Laid out on the table were free zine templates, zines explaining how to create your own and supplies to help with your creation.
“We launched this zine workshop, or templates, because … [we] know that sometimes creating your own book … can be a lot,” said Sarahi Sepulveda from Tia Chuchas.
“This part of the valley is super underfunded, underrepresented. So to have things like this [zine fest] put together by locals, is exciting,” added Sepulveda.
This was the second zine fest at the Midnight Hour, which owner Sergio Amalfitano is turning into a bi-annual event.
Saturday hosted 14 vendors and participants: Tia Chuchas, Lifted Cold Brew, Bruxita Linda, Riimachii, Danny Duarte, Drifter Zine, Gemeanie, Marjina Haque, Peter Villafane, SFValley Photos, Sad Babes Club, John Dishwasher, Los Ojos and Dead Relatives Magazine.
“I like any culture involved in punk,” said Amalfitano as a response to why he was hosting a zine fest.
It’s believed that zines date back to the 1930s or ’40s with “fan magazines,” or fanzines. But in the 1970s, with the popularity of copy machines, the art form became closely associated with the DIY ethos and punk subcultures. Zine’s popularity rose again in the ’90s with riot grrrl and punk third-wave feminism.
“In the history of zine making, there was a big influence from the punk movement, which was really pushing back against the establishment. You still see that in contemporary zine-making right now, but it’s more coming from marginalized groups,” said zine-maker John Stephenson, who goes by John Dishwasher.
“The zine form is super accessible. Anybody can make a zine,” said Stephenson. “People who [may] feel like they don’t have a voice in society come across this really accessible form where they can express their points of view.”
The next table over housed Drifter Zine, an independent San Fernando Valley-based publication curated and produced by Madison Parsley and Iván Salinas.
“We started this publication to basically highlight San Fernando Valley artists. There weren’t any publications that were really doing that at the time,” said Parsley.
The quarterly submission-based publication accepts visual and written work centered around a certain theme for each issue, such as “Delirium,” “Disrupt” and “Suburban Wasteland.”
“Art and politics have always collided and they’re always intersecting,” said Parsley, who has a background in journalism and wanted to push back against mainstream media.
“We need people talking about police brutality and the corruption in LA City Council, and what’s happening in Palestine. This is a way for artists to be able to do that. To get their work out and to have that conversation.”
Parsley and Salinas noted that a lot of community spaces – bookstores, music venues and art spaces – have shut down in the valley. Despite the abundance of creatives in the area, there is a lack of spaces for them to share work.
“Culturally, the San Fernando Valley feels overlooked,” said Salinas. He added that having an event locally gives them, “a place of our own to showcase our work and kind of have a pride in that we’re from the 818.”
Since the 2010s, there has been a resurgence of zines. But most of the events, like the LA Zine Fest and the LA Art Book Fair, take place outside the valley. Amalfitano wanted to bring things back to the 818.
“A lot of things aren’t in the valley. So it’s nice to finally have something here. … To finally get recognition and have an opportunity to express what we do,” said photographer Danny Duarte.
Laid out in front of him were neatly bound photo books filled with clean minimalist compositions of urban and suburban landscapes.
“There’s so many people that are creating wonderful work that you wouldn’t normally get to see,” said Duarte. “When we get everyone together, we really get to … [see that] people are creating a lot. Especially in the valley, which doesn’t get a lot of recognition.”
The next Zine Fest at the Midnight Hour is scheduled for Sept. 27.