Following my conversation with Jamie, one sentence stood out in relation to my project:
"when we did our street party last year, we just
did in the street and the surrounding area, we did a kind of survey to make sure
people were happy to have the street closed and things like that. It actually
turns out that only about five per cent of people that we asked had access to a
computer."
This stuck with me - I have been considering for some time producing a blog or website for Levenshulme residents that profiled shopkeepers and campaigners using my images and text; a community resource of sorts. However, I cannot claim to create a piece of work for the community if I then exclude such a large proportion of said community through the means in which I choose to publish.
My thoughts turned to printed media and it seemed the most obvious solution would be a zine.
A zine (/ˈziːn/ zeen; an abbreviation of fanzine, or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original and/or appropriated texts and images usually reproduced via photocopier.
A popular definition includes that circulation must be 1,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 100, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.
Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text. Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyrighted and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed.
A zine containing images could be printed and distributed free of charge from businesses and community centres in Levenshulme. The idea of distributing artwork for free within my community appeals: it would be available to all, excluding no-one; it would hopefully make people stop to think about the community or reflect on positive and negative aspects of living here (or at least wonder why the work has been produced and for what purpose); it would further strengthen the sense of community if people got to recognise others in the area, particularly those who were working or campaigning towards improvements.
I also like the idea of continuing the zine beyond the MA - perhaps producing one every six months. I do not want to explicitly state the purpose of the zine within the publication, for I feel that people in the community should be given cause to wonder about these things and make their own decisions. I would simply like my work to be seen by people and for this to perhaps have a positive effect on their feelings about the area.
A zine (/ˈziːn/ zeen; an abbreviation of fanzine, or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original and/or appropriated texts and images usually reproduced via photocopier.
A popular definition includes that circulation must be 1,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 100, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.
Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text. Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zines. Small circulation zines are often not explicitly copyrighted and there is a strong belief among many zine creators that the material within should be freely distributed.
A zine containing images could be printed and distributed free of charge from businesses and community centres in Levenshulme. The idea of distributing artwork for free within my community appeals: it would be available to all, excluding no-one; it would hopefully make people stop to think about the community or reflect on positive and negative aspects of living here (or at least wonder why the work has been produced and for what purpose); it would further strengthen the sense of community if people got to recognise others in the area, particularly those who were working or campaigning towards improvements.
I also like the idea of continuing the zine beyond the MA - perhaps producing one every six months. I do not want to explicitly state the purpose of the zine within the publication, for I feel that people in the community should be given cause to wonder about these things and make their own decisions. I would simply like my work to be seen by people and for this to perhaps have a positive effect on their feelings about the area.