Letter from the art curator
by AMANDA BJÖRN, Art Curator of the FEMINIST ZINE
Read this in the FEMINIST ZINE
Dear Feminists,
Welcome to our first FEMINIST ZINE! As the art curator for the platform over the last two years, I have been dreaming of bringing our diverse and talented digital community into a printed selection of work that can be held, read and shared. The selection of our contributing artists comes from Mexico, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, China, and Ghana, just to name a few! Not only did we invite contributors that we’ve worked closely with over the last few years, but we also held an open call to our community of over 6 million inviting them to submit their art and writings. With an incredible response of talent, we selected a group of work that speaks to the ethos of intersectional feminism that make up our platform, and this zine. Thank you to all who submitted!
Historically, the zine has always been used by marginalized communities to spread information tracing back as early as the abolitionist pamphlets in the 1830s to the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and later used by the Black Panther organizations, Women’s Liberation, and Punk communities of the 1970s. The Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s helped to popularize the zine as we know it today. It’s a powerful medium that has been used by alternative art and social movements to question, provoke, and revolt against the power structures dominating the times they live in.
Now, more than ever, we need art. As we continue to fight for freedom over our bodies, our sexuality, our race— we rely on art to help us share these necessary stories. Art humanizes our issues and provides us relief that we are not alone in this fight against the patriarchy. Continuing to create and share will help us to eradicate these systems of oppression.
To quote one of my favorite artists, Judy Chicago, “I believe in art that is connected to real human feeling, that extends itself beyond the limits of the art world to embrace all people who are striving for alternatives in an increasingly dehumanized world..and I believe that, at this moment of history, feminism is humanism.”
Happy reading, feminists! Keep making art!
In solidarity,
Amanda Bjorn
@amandabjorn
Happy reading, feminists! Keep making art!
