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Photos by Renee Schmiedeberg.

Those searching for artistic material unsullied and unfiltered by mass media behemoths will find their cravings satisfied through a new-ish medium: zines! If you haven’t yet heard of them, zines are the most honest published material you’ll find anywhere (other than your sister’s diary of course).

The third annual Long Beach Zine Fest (LBZF) took place this past Sunday at the Museum of Latin American Art. In line with the values of most zinesters, admission to the event was and always has been free. While the two previous LBZF’s have been popular, this one was undoubtedly the most packed, with attendees crowding the venue from opening to closing at 5:00PM.

Those streaming in through the MOLAA’s front entrance were greeted in the lobby with information on the Long Beach Public Library’s zine collection, sign-ups for zine-making workshops and panels happening throughout the day.

The atmosphere in the Zine Room was undoubtedly ultra-creative. Every few feet was something interesting, inventive and usually intimate to behold. Some guests remarked on how overwhelmed they felt upon entering the Zine Room and looking through the personal work of many zinesters. Luckily, a quiet reading room was available for those needing some downtime during the creative ruckus.

During the panels, zinesters were interviewed about zine culture in their community and asked questions by the audience. Ajuan Mance, a speaker during the Queer Zine Culture panel, mentioned how many in their black community were making zines without calling them by that name.

“Folks back then would put together a few of their recipes into a pamphlet, and that was a zine,” Mance said.

This brings to mind the boundlessness of zine topics available at the fest, ranging from monster and robot stories to sex education. Aesthetically, the zines were just as diverse, with cartoony doodle-style one minute and a fine-art type the next.

Local bands Seek the Freek, Big Bad Rooster, King Kang and Rudy De Anda played in the museum’s sculpture garden, with food booths like Long Beach’s own Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and Company of Khanh, as well as free tastings from Lord Windsor Coffee and Beachwood BBQ and Brewery that were offered around the corner in the parking lot.

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While most zinesters were from LA or Long Beach, some came from as far as Oakland or Arizona. Some represented both personal zines and organizations; one of these zinesters was Luis Antonio Pichardo from DSTL Arts, a non-profit arts mentorship program that inspires, teaches and hires creative, at-risk youth in Los Angeles and even provides them with career counseling.

“The publishing industry makes it difficult for people of color to get their work out, especially when it comes to work that uses Spanish or a combination of both,” Pichardo said of the importance of self-publication. “Zines counteract that.”

Looking at all the excited artists, it’s hard not to feel inspired by their DIY drive, relentless questioning, hard work and hope for the future. We’ve all heard that print magazines and newspapers are going out and only remain as long as baby boomers can hang on to them. But nearly everyone hawking their zines and homemade items were young people with heads full of new ideas and new ways of living for the future.

In a world where mainstream mass media is constantly working to drown all other voices out, it’s of grave importance that we come out to support independent artists, whether it’s dropping pocket change into a guitar case, purchasing a few DIY magazines at a zine fest or posting a picture on social media with the caption: #TheFutureIsFolded.

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