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Fri, Mar 28, 2025 5:00pm–8:00pm

Behind the Zines

Zines placed on display tables.
Photo by Prentiss Corbin
Fri, Mar 28, 2025
5:00pm–8:00pm
Museum of Art

Behind the Zines is an engaging zine festival event for anyone curious about zines, creativity, and community! Held in conjunction with the exhibition La Raza Art and Media Collective this event celebrates the legacy of DIY art, publishing, and… you guessed it: zines.

The event will feature live demonstrations, a show-and-tell of historic zine collections, and hands-on workshops, where you can learn skills to make your own zines. We are thrilled to highlight the work of several Midwest zine and DIY-artists, including Atlan Arceo-Witzl, Leah Crosby, Marc Fischer, Cat Cassel, and Eric Von Haynes, who will share their knowledge and experiences.

Whether you’re a long-time zine fan or just starting to explore this creative culture, this event offers a chance to learn, connect, and celebrate the spirit of independent publishing in a welcoming space for all.

Free and open to the public. No registration required.

SCHEDULE Of EVENTS:

La Raza Art and Media Collective zine cover

ALL DAY

  • Demonstrations
  • Maker Space
  • Community Tables

5:10 & 6:10

  • Facilitated Workshop with Leah Crosby

5:40 & 6:60

  • Facilitated Workshop with Cat Cassel

5:30, 6:00, 6:30, & 7:00

  • Zine Libraries & Presentations with Marc Fischer, Eric von Haynes, and Yhasmin Wilder

About the Zine Artists

Atlan Arceo-Witzl is a Mexican-American visual artist, printmaker, creator, and educator based in Chicago, IL. As a mixed-race Chicanx person, his artwork synergizes graphic elements of image and text in moments of humorous mestizaje. His pieces draw from passing phrases, political movements, and palpable relics of the past, manipulating them towards a liberated future. He is an active member of the Chicago Printers Guild as well as Instituto Gráfico de Chicago.

Atlan Arceo-Witzl

atlanaw.com
Leah is an artist and educator who uses text, sound, performance, film, and sculpture to tell stories about care and human connection. They are currently one of three Creative Careers Fellows associated with the U-M Arts Initiative and are part of the organizing team behind the inaugural Zine Jamboree, an event held in Ypsilanti, MI on March 29.

Leah Crosby

leahcrosby.cargo.site
Chicago-based Marc Fischer is the administrator of Public Collectors, an initiative he formed in 2007. Public Collectors’ work includes the Library Excavations publication series and web project, Hardcore Architecture—a blog and publication series about where people in punk bands lived, and Quaranzine—which produced 100 single page publications with over 75 collaborators.

Marc Fischer

publiccollectors.org
Eric Von Haynes is a Chicago designer, printmaker, and educator. He operates Flatlands Press and teaches Graphic Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Print Media at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. As the President of the Chicago Printers Guild, he works to support and connect local printmakers His work explores analog and digital printing techniques, community-based projects, and collaborative publishing.

Eric Von Haynes

chicagoprintersguild.org
Yhasmin Wilder is a self-taught comic artist and illustrator from the Metro-Detroit area who is passionate about sharing the stories and uplifting the voices of their LGBTQIA2+ family while creating safe queer spaces for networking and community. Primarily a self-published zine artist, Yhasmin works digitally and creates work centered around their experience as a black, queer, nonbinary trans person. Yhasmin is passionate about zines and organizes Detroit Zine Fest.

Yhasmin Wilder

instagram: @boymonsta
Cat Cassel is a Lecturer in the Sweetland Center for Writing at the University of Michigan. She loves all kinds of creative and crafty things, from collage to watercolor.

Cat Cassel

Community Tables

Meet with local zine organizers and makers, including Detroit Zine Fest, Zine Jamboree, Kzoo Zine Fest, Grand Rapids Zine Fest, LICZ!, AWE, and more!

Interior of the LA Raza Art & Medioa Collective with a vibrant, colorful mural on a green wall. Glass doors and windows are reflecting the outside street view. An exhibit display with graphical panels is placed in the foreground.
Photo by Neil Kagerer

Related Exhibition

La Raza Art and Media Collective

1975 – Today

Dec 7, 2024 — July 20, 2025

SUPPORT

Support for La Raza Art and Media Collective is provided by the U-M Office of the Provost, the U-M Arts Initiative, Susan and Richard Gutow, the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, and the U-M Bentley Historical Library.