Undoubtedly, Brooklyn is the place for zines. So if you are looking for a place to learn the fine craft of zine-making or you want to see the works of the next wave of zine publishers, come to Brooklyn. You might want to get into the exciting world of zines, but don’t know where to start or how to go put them together or you even might be afraid of staples. Don’t worry though, because there’s a free zine workshop this weekend that’ll break the whole thing down for you and get you publishing faster than you can say “Get in the van.”
The Converse CONS Project is a series of free community projects designed to inspire the next generation of zine makers with interactive art and music workshops for anyone between 13 and 24. They’ll be popping up in Greenpoint on Saturday, February 7 with a “Zine Making and Printing” workshop from 11am to 5pm at Windmill Studios (3000 Kingsland Avenue, Greenpoint) that’ll include a lesson in skate-zine history and culture, as well as a chance to learn the different ways to make print and bind zines. By the end of the day, you’ll have collaborated on a brand new zine that everyone gets a copy of.
Zine publisher Brian Paul Lamotte and photographer Andreas Laszlo Konrath of Pau Wau Publications will lead the daylong workshop with pro skater Quim Cardona of Organika Skateboards. Even though RSVPs for the workshop are closed, walk-ins are more than welcome. Speaking from my humble experience, there’s never a bad time to make your first zine, so get down there!