Atlanta Zine Fest 2015 announces theme: Girls

Atlanta Zine Fest, Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta 2014 pick for “Best Forum for Fostering DIY Culture,” looks like a strong contender for a repeat in 2015. AZF organizer Amanda Mills announced the fest’s theme for 2015 and it’s a critical look at girls. Specifically, 50 percent of festival programming will be dedicated to the “celebrating, challenging, and queering” of the term/identity girls in relation to zines, Mills says in a press statement:
? ?? My personal background in zines is deeply rooted in girlhood. Hashing out a bedroom bildungsroman with scissors and a glue stick, I was able to construct relatable narratives of girlhood that I didn’t find elsewhere. Riot grrrl writing, in particular, offered a framework for producing media, discussing culture, and disseminating information outside of mainstream avenues.
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? That zines are outside mainstream media is especially integral. Fringe media allows for alternative processes, channels, and dialogue. Girlhood is experienced in myriad ways–not all of which are represented in pop culture. Zines can fill this gap. “Zines are sites where girls and women construct identities, communities, and explanatory narratives from the materials that comprise their cultural moment: discourses, media representations, ideologies, stereotypes and even physical detritus,” writes Allison Piepmeier in Girl Zines, the first major academic work on girls and zines.
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? More specifically, girls are often posited as consumers of culture. Their stereotyped role in social trends can overemphasize their buying power and undervalue their creative agency. Through exploring zines, we discover one of the ways that girls produce media. Though girl involvement in zine-making reached an apex via riot grrrl, the scope of this theme is in no way limited to that specific style, ideology, time, or group. Criticisms of the “girl” label–including race, class, and gender normativity–are equally welcome.
? ?? AZF 2015 takes place Sat., July 18 at Eyedrum. Mills also gives some ideas in regard to potential programming, which could include: “a discussion on racism in riot grrrl groups of the ‘90s–and how this may manifest today; guest speakers who reflect girl zines in their work; a workshop on reclaiming feminine writing and expression; a panel questioning the use of the girl label; a workshop on turning high school notes, text messages–and other forms of media associated with girls–into zines” and more.
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? In the lead up, AZF’s nonprofit umbrella Murmur will host an eight-week zinester camp for kids and an art exhibit, Ephemeral Memorable, at Mammal Gallery on April 17. Those interested in being vendors, potential workshop leaders or speakers can sign up on the website or email
? info at atlantazinefest.com.
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