Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Revolution Cut-and-Paste Style NOW!
Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown
7 – 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Free!

SubVersion Summer Camp starts TODAY and we’re teaming up with our friends at Life on Marz Community Club to take part in this citywide call to action! Y’all are invited to help create a group zine about the myriad ways we can give the middle finger to fascism.

Please join us for Zine Club Chicago on Marz: Revolution Cut-and-Paste Style NOW!, 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, July 23 at Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave. in Logan Square/Bucktown. Free!

We’re also thrilled to announce that our own Liz Mason will be spinning a SubVersive DJ set during our event! Liz is a zinemaker, a DJ at CHIRP 107.1 FM, and a founding member of Zine Club Chicago.

SubVersion Summer Camp is a Do-It-Together series of gatherings and calls to action that runs July 17-27 at locations throughout the city. Public Media Institute is collaborating with artists, educators, musicians, filmmakers, activists, designers, and workers of all stripes to offer a series of free community programs, events, and meals. Check out the full schedule at coprosperity.org

We’ll provide all the zinemaking supplies! Just bring your creativity. Life on Marz Community Club, our favorite locally owned taproom and café space, offers awesome alcoholic, CBD, and non-alcoholic beverages from Marz Community Brewing Co. and more, plus some very fun snacks, for purchase.

Zine Club Chicago is a mask-supportive environment; we’ll have masks available if you’d like to wear one.

Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are always welcome at Zine Club Chicago. This free community event series is produced by queer zinemaker Cynthia E. Hanifin. Anna Jo Beck is the creative force behind our visuals. Liz Mason is our indispensable co-conspirator.

Image description: A flyer featuring a background photo of a pile of zines and this text: “REVOLUTION CUT-AND-PASTE STYLE NOW!!; Make SubVersive zines with us!; Zine Club Chicago on Marz; 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, July 23; Life on Marz Community Club, 1950 N. Western Ave.; featuring a SubVersive set by DJ Liz Mason!; Free!; Info at zineclubchicago.com”

Can’t make it to South Side Zine Fest? We’ll match you with a zine pen pal!

We’ll be hosting a pen pal station so festgoers can create and send some fun snail mail to a new out-of-town zine friend right from our event.

Sign up for a pen pal here: tiny.cc/SSZF2025PenPals

Our international friends are welcome to participate, too!

Pen pal sign-up closes at 10 p.m. CT Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Image description: A flyer featuring illustrations of envelopes and writing implements, the South Side Zine Fest logo, and this text: “Can’t make it to South Side Zine Fest? We’ll match you with a zine pen pal! Sign up by 10 p.m. CT Wednesday, July 23: tiny.cc/SSZF2025PenPals

Allie Scholten (she/her) is Midwest-born, living in Chicago and working across libraries and archives. Her work focuses on collage and mail art, using archival materials to reinterpret long-held histories. Find her on Instagram: @for.namessake

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Allie Scholten, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Allie Scholten!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Want to get involved with South Side Zine Fest? We’re looking for volunteers to help out on the day of the event!

We’ll need assistance with the following tasks: Set-up, breakdown, greeting fest attendees/answering questions, staffing zinemaking stations, and covering exhibitors’ tables so they can take breaks.

If you’d like to sign up for a one- or two-hour volunteer shift sometime between 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on fest day in exchange for our gratitude and a fun zine grab bag, please email us at zineclubchicago.com

The inaugural South Side Zine Fest will be held 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A blue and red flyer featuring the South Side Zine Fest and Zine Club Chicago logos and this text: “Join Us for the Inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Presented by Zine Club Chicago; A celebration of self-publishing with Zine Camp vibes!; Volunteers Needed! If interested, email zineclubchicago@gmail.com”

Midwest Perzine Fest, organized by founder Jonas (they/them), Angel (they/them), Red (they/them), and Alex (she/her, they/them), is a Midwest- and Chicago-centric zine fest that celebrates the radical, DIY art of perzines. The inaugural MWPZF was held online on October 10th, 2020. In 2021, they hosted a snail-mail perzine swap in lieu of a fest. The first in-person MWPZF was held at Columbia College in Chicago, on October 8th, 2022. Find MWPZF on Instagram at @midwestperzinefest and online at midwestperzinefest.wordpress.com

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of photos of the organizers of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Midwest Perzine Fest and images of graphics created for MWPZF, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Midwest Perzine Fest!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Jen Chavez (she/her) is a Chicana illustrator and comic artist. Her zines focus on various mental illnesses, troubles with catholicism, and the occasional natural disaster When she’s not drawing she likes to pace around Chicago for as long as possible. Find her on Instagram: @Jen.kneefer

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of images of zines created by South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Jen Chavez, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Jen Chavez!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Marimacha Monarca Press is an artist and educator collective of, by and for queer & trans familia based on the southside of Chicago since 2017. MMP provides workshops in printmaking, seed paper making, piñata making, and zine-making as a means of self publication, communication, and reflection. Working alongside themes of queerness, race, language, migration, accessibility, and visual storytelling, we hope our conversations allow us to see the power in illustrating our own histories.
Find them on Instagram: @marimachamonarcapress

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A photo of a member of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Marimacha Monarca Press with zines created by the collective and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Marimacha Monarca Press!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Teddie Bernard (they/he) is a queer cartoonist, writer, and printmaker. His work explores queer identity, history, and connection. They spend their time refurbishing obsolete printers and researching obscure lesbians. Find them on Tumblr at @tea-ddie and on BlueSky at @tea-ddie

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of photos of South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Teddie Bernard and their zines, with this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Teddie Bernard!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Midwest Books to Prisoners wields the printed word as the weapon of choice to break down prison walls and build bridges of solidarity. We fight to undermine the lack of access to communication and education while amplifying voices the system silences by helping people self-publish their works as zines. Find them on Instagram: @midwestbooks2p

Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of several images of zines distributed by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Midwest Books to Prisoners and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Midwest Books to Prisoners!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”

Río (they/them) at Amor as Lucha is a migrant nonbinary brown person who makes arty zines about life and random things. Find them in Instagram at @amoraslucha +@fediverse; on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/echeri.mastodon.art.ap.brid.gy; and on Mastodon at https://mastodon.art/@echeri
 
Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Richard J. Daley Branch of the Chicago Public Library, 3400 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport. Free!

Image description: A collage of several images of zines created by the South Side Zine Fest 2025 exhibitor Amor as Lucha and this text: “Join us for the inaugural South Side Zine Fest! Welcoming Amor as Lucha!; July 26, 2025; Chicago Public Library; Bridgeport”