Selected ‘Artists Inn Residence’ will work alongside Northside artist Natasha Neira and Stephen Grebinski for one month to publish a zine.

By Lucia Shen

Photo: Northside artist Natasha Neira screen printing, back in 2019. Neira and fellow artist Stephen Grebinski are now taking applications for the Misfeed Press “Artist Inn Residence” Program. By Ashlee Green

In a 2019 interview with The Northside Chronicle, Natasha Neira discussed printmaking and what it meant to her. It’s her form of “self-care,” and that includes sharing the practice with others.

“Printmaking has historically been ‘learn by example,’” Neira said in the interview. “…There’s a satisfaction and a happiness in passing along education that doesn’t have to be this institutionalized thing. Mentorship and knowledge and leadership [are] really powerful.”

Neira and fellow artist Stephen Grebinski are teaming up for the Misfeed Press “Artist Inn Residence” Program this year, offering artists mentorship and a creative community to make their own zines.

The residency is fully virtual, and at the end of it, Neira and Grebinski plan to have an in-person showcase of the zines created. The deadline to apply is Jan. 15.

Zines, short for magazine or fanzine, are tricky to define, as they exist to be a way of spreading ideas and culture outside of established mainstream publishing routes. Barnard College, which has one of the most sizeable zine collections in academia, defines a zine as “a DIY* subculture self-publication, usually made on paper and reproduced with a photocopier or printer.” The people that make them, furthermore, are “often motivated by a desire to share knowledge or experience with people in marginalized or otherwise less-empowered communities.” 

Zines can encompass a wide variety of genres, including art, fan works, politics, and DIY. The term ‘fanzine’ itself came about around the 1930s from science fiction enthusiasts, but the concept of self publishing ideas has been around since the advent of the printing press, as seen with Thomas Paine’s 1776 pamphlet, “Common Sense.”

The common thread between zines is their focus on self-expression rather than profit. So from the 1930s onward, when printing was more readily available, zines became a way for people who didn’t have representation within mainstream media to share thoughts and experiences within their communities: Queer culture, punk rock, and feminist movements, for instance, found their expression through zines. You can find more information about the Misfeed Press “Artist Inn Residence” Program on the Misfeed website.