amwa @ oc zine fest 2017

earlier this month we participated in the 4th annual oc zine fest held at the anaheim public library. featuring over 100 vendors across southern california along with a photo booth and workshops such as making your own diy self care tool kit, writing in time of displacement, and ink & zen meditation, oc zine fest centered its event on the importance of self-love and self-care, which isn’t too surprising given the do-it-yourself culture of the zine making community.

in times fraught with enmity and chaos, I am always dependent on the aphorisms of audre lorde, one being “caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

at our very own amwa zine table we decided to showcase both quiet and loud forms of self declarations, revelations, and reveries by asian mamas jing niu, elizabeth cho, so yun um, tevy khou, lauren lim, wendy valdez, sara chao, jenevieve ting, brittany ko, sarah kim, laura wu and the collective would be saboteurs take heed.

all proceeds from the zines went directly back to the artists, except for jing niu who donated all of her proceeds to amwa (thank you for the support xo)! sales from brittany ko's print as well as buttons I made were donated to blm charlottesville. oh, and a special thanks to sara, maggi, and angela who volunteered at the event and brought their very special energies into the space!

zines, from its inception, have always carved out space for marginalized voices. as I went around talking (and trading) with other vendors at the event, I was reminded once again of the true significance of the diy zine culture. now more than ever, I encourage everyone to make their own—it’s so easy you can do it with an 8 x 11 paper. there is something so empowering about disseminating information, art, poetry, etc. in your own terms.

anyway, enough of my platitudes. thank you oc zine fest for having us! we'll see you next year!

- seo yun

photo cred: sarah waldorf