Archives in Action - Journeying to Cheshire: Scenes from a Zine workshop

ZINE (/ziːn/ ZEEN); short for magazine or fanzine): a non-commercial, often homemade or online publication, usually devoted to specialised subject matter and often created by individuals or small groups.

Over the last two years, we have partnered with Cheshire Halton & Warrington Race & Equality Centre (CHAWREC) for the Journeying to Cheshire project, to collect interviews with people who have moved to Cheshire from other countries.

Following the interviews, with CHAWREC supporting, we invited participants to a workshop at the Archives. The aim was for them to create a zine with advice for others who have crossed borders to get here.

Five of the Journeying to Cheshire interviewees took part, along with new participants who wanted to share some advice and do something creative.

Local artist Steph Coathupe led the workshop, and for creative inspiration filled a table with lots of different examples of zines. They included essays, poetry, illustrations, even one shaped like a banana … all about bananas!

We printed out images taken from our Archive Gems for materials that participants could use for collaging. We also encouraged them to look for other images from our Local Studies collection and Cheshire Image Bank.

Each person then created an individual zine, which reflected their personal stories – including difficulties that they had faced, how they ended up feeling at home, and messages of hope. These were then used to contribute towards a larger zine, which combines different experiences with ideas and practical advice for people new to Cheshire. These will be printed and distributed by project partners.