Forest of Zine is a bicycle-based mobile/pop-up zine library that showcases a selection of zines that are nature-based and/or capture journeys through the world (whether those journeys are physical, emotional or metaphysical). The collection is taken into forests (big and small) and other green spaces to enable people to engage with the collection in nature and encourage them to make their own zines. The library seeks to amplify marginalised voices and this is a focus when sourcing zines for the collection. See ‘Questions and Answers‘ for information about zines and the background of Forest of Zine.
2024 Plans
I’ve started to plan where Forest of Zine will visit in 2024 and have already had to scale-down my over-excited ambitions because there are only so many weeks in the year and so much holiday I can take! I’m also realising that this is a long term project and so I don’t have to do everything all at once, I can take it slow and enjoy it, rather than rushing around and getting myself stressed about it (which is easily done)!
I’ve spent most of this winter (23/24) planning and making a quilt for Forest of Zine, it’s no where near finished yet, but it’s getting there and I’ve organised a Quilting Bee to help with the final push and give me a deadline to get all the blocks ready for. The Quilting Bee will be an opportunity for other people to be involved in the making of the quilt to enhance and embellish the letter quilt blocks I’m making into something special. The Quilting Bee is happening in Bristol on Sunday 24th March at the Nissan Hut in Eastville Park from 2-5pm, everyone is welcome:
The Collection
Forest of Zine is growing rapidly, most recently from a visit to Cardiff Zine Fest in November, organised by Shelf Life Books and Zines and Art Hole, both based in Cardiff. I got the most zines in one day, by far, from the wonderful Over Here Zine Fest (a “not-for-profit event showcasing the work of global majority zine makers, artists, writers and activists”) in September in Manchester, where I (mostly) bought 29 zines (some were free)! This followed a visit to my friend Rosie’s amazing Shelf Life Books and Zines (“a not-for-profit radical bookshop in Cardiff working with independent publishers and DIY zine-makers to make space for marginalised and under-represented voices”) in Cardiff, where I bought another good stack of zines to add to the collection! I’m currently reading these and others that I’ve ordered and am still in the process of contacting the authors to get permission for them to be included.
Highlights from Forest of Zine 2023 (a full list of events can be found here):
16.09.2023 Ecstatic Drum Beats World Cup, Shift, Cardiff
Ecstatic Drum Beats World Cup, organised by Dan Johnson, at Shift in Cardiff took place on Saturday 16th September from 6pm. This was an indoor event with a range of amazing artists (including Pam Rose Cott and Liquid Library) displaying their works and performing as well as the Ecstatic Drum Beats World Cup itself.
18.08.2023 Royal Fort Gardens, University of Bristol
Royal Fort Gardens at the University of Bristol on Friday 18th August from 11am to 2pm by Hollow, a sculpture by Katie Paterson, which “houses a miniature forest of all the worlds trees”. The location can be found by using what3words ///points.woods.buzz or search “Hollow – Katie Paterson” on your map app!
23.07.2023 Launch – Ashton Hill Plantation, near Bristol
The launch of Forest of Zine took place on Sunday 23rd July, as close to International Zine Library day as possible. The location can be found using what3words ///chained.rides.ideal