What is a zine?


Zines (pronounced "zeens") are informal, self-published booklets/creations that have been part of campaigning and social movements since the beginning of the 20th century (although some say they go back as far as the 1500s). Zines are an excellent way to briefly and meaningfully articulate a message, story or information, bring communities together and inspire creative expression without pressure. They are easy and fun to make, out of a single sheet of paper that can be photocopied for sharing and distribution, and can be surprisingly profound and impactful. 

Zine libraries can be found in many parts of the world.

Hope in the Heart has been involved in The University of Lancashire's Madzines Research Project, and Tam and Sophie have facilitated zine workshops in many places and contexts. We have a wide collection of zines, which have been featured in our Messages from the HeART exhibitions.

In 2024, HITH's Brixton community group made a collection of zines on the subject of peace culture for Tam to take to Hiroshima as part of a collaborative Peace Education Project. While there Tam and her colleagues from the Madzines project successfully introduced zine making to students and peacemakers living in Hiroshima. This exchange planted the seed for the ZinePeace Collection. 

Here is a blog Tam wrote after first encountering zinemaking, and here is one written by Hel Spandler and Jill Anderson (of the Madzines Research Project) after attending HITH's zine-featuring exhibition in 2023. 

Please contact [email protected] if you'd like to book a zine workshop for your group or chat about zines. 
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At a time when it has never been needed more, Peace Culture goes far beyond the absence of conflict. Peace Culture Ingredients can include justice, equity, reconciliation, harmony, compassion, healing and love – and also frustration, outrage, grief, despair - and hope.

We long for (and fear and grieve the absence of) inner peace, global peace, environmental peace, conscientious peace, restorative peace… what else?
What does, or might, peace look like to you? How does it absence or presence make you feel?
                
ZinePeace is a creative project offered by Hope in the Heart that invites you to express your thoughts and feelings on the (broad) subject of peace – in an A4, single-page zine.
Make a zine at a workshop or at home. Contribute a copy to our international ZinePeace collection to create a travelling exhibition of unique publications for a more peaceful world.
Contact [email protected] for more information, or to arrange a workshop.