First-ever Flint Zine Fest showcases expression, art, writing in DIY scene

FLINT, Michigan — After being inspired by Grand Rapids Zine Fest, local artist Terra Lockhart is bringing the idea to her native hometown of Flint. The inaugural free event is slated for May 2 from noon to 6 p.m. at Factory Two, and will feature zines, art, music, food trucks, and more. 

Lockhart is an artist who does drawing, painting, graphic design, and sculpture. She learned about zines from other Flint-area artist friends and started making them in 2011. 

Zines are self-made, low-budget, easily accessible pieces of art. Many people use them as an affordable way to express themselves through both artwork and writing. Lockhart says the subject matter and styles of zines can vary. 

“The word zine is basically cutting down or shortening the word magazine,” Lockhart says. “A zine is a self-published or small-press book, usually containing art, comics, protest zines, fan zines, informational zines sharing resources or info on how to do certain things.”

The goal of the first-ever Flint event is to build communities around artwork. Lockhart says she hopes to bring together folks of all kinds and levels of art — inviting everyone to learn how to become makers and express themselves through their unique physical media creations. 

“Zines are a really great starting point for that, and pretty much anyone can make a zine out of a piece of paper,” she says. “It can be writing, drawing, anything. The most simple zines are made with a piece of paper, a Sharpie, and you can easily photocopy them, fold them up, and they’re ready to go. You have copies to give to other people or to leave places. It uses things people usually have around the house, so it’s easy and accessible. 

When it came to launching the artist application page, Lockhart was pleasantly surprised with the amount of people — 70 artists — who wanted to participate in the inaugural event.

Jewel Brown, the Program Manager at Factory Two, has also been involved in the selection process. 

“For the selection process, it was almost like a ranking process,” she says. “We all voted on what we wanted to be present, and then all of our top contenders as much as we were able to fill the space. People were selected from all over the Midwest, which I think is really cool.”

Lockhart says the zine community is typically very welcoming. 

“All the artists I’ve met in the zine community are very open and accepting people who want to prop each other up and share art with each other as much as possible,” she says. “It feels like a very safe place to do that as well. There’s a lot of LGBTQIA+ people in this community, and they feel safe to explore their identities there. There’s also people with disabilities and mental illness who also feel pretty comfortable sharing their experiences in the zine community, which is accepting, nice, and kind.”

Brown also attributes the recent rise in zine popularity to accessibility. 

“As things are getting more expensive and quite dreary, people are wanting to express and create. It’s a really easy way to start to get into that,” she says. 

There are also two events in conjunction with Flint Zine Fest, including a zine artist spotlight event at Totem Books on Saturday, April 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. Featured artists will share their zine artwork and participate in a live interview. 

Another kick-off event takes place on Saturday, April 25, at 11 a.m. at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library. The community is invited to make their own four-paneled zine to trade at the event in May. 

There is no registration or cost for the Flint Zine Fest on May 2. In addition to the artists and activities, there will be four musicians performing live music, as well as food trucks on-site. 

Brown is excited to host events like this one, as they align well with Factory Two’s mission of accessibility, knowledge, and empowering community members. 

“I’m really excited to see how Factory Two can expand in the arts community,” she says. “We have historically been doing a lot of STEM education, and this year we have started to participate more in STEAM activities, participating in more art-based things. I’m happy to host this event and see the potential of new creators it will be bringing into this space.”