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Zines Forever! DIY Publishing and Disability Justice

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Photograph of three people chatting in an exhibition gallery. In the centre one of the people is discussing a zine they have held open in their hands with the other two people, who are sat on a large double bed, made up of a pink mattress and orange pillows. To the side of the bed is a display table with more zines and a tablet in a holder.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

‘Zines Forever! DIY Publishing and Disability Justice’ looks at how zines have been used to share experiences of disability and disabled identity. A form of radical self-publishing, zines come in all shapes, sizes and media, from single-page handwritten mini-zines to tactile zines exploring accessibility through braille and audio.

The display draws on our growing collection of over 1300 zines themed around health. It explores how the making and sharing of zines can further disability activism and political resistance and serve as a vehicle for community building and mutual support.

Almost all the zines will be available to handle and read at your leisure in the relaxed surroundings of the display. And if you feel inspired, you’ll be able to make your own zine! 

‘Zines Forever!’ is curated by Dr Lea Cooper (artist and zinemaker), and Adam Rose (Assistant Curator, Wellcome Collection). It is the second in a series of focused displays inspired by our collections. 

Zines resources

Display highlights

Gallery photograph of a vibrant yellow walled room, with a large complimentary colour wheel graphic on one wall titled 'The Zine Spectrum'. Against the far wall and in the centre of the room are display tables with sloping supports for zines visitors can pick up and read.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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'Zines Forever!' starts by introducing what zines are and what they mean to their makers and readers. In this room, there's a selection of zines about zine making and the nature of zines.

A young man sits at a table reading a booklet which he holds in his hands. A monitor on the table in front of him shows an enlargement of what he sees in the booklet.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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You can pick-up, handle and read almost all the zines in the display. There are also digital copies of all the zines on iPads throughout the space so you can enlarge the pages. Feel free to move around with the zines and take a seat wherever you feel comfortable.

Close-up gallery photograph of the large complimentary colour wheel graphic on the wall titled 'The Zine Spectrum'. Beside it is an information panel titled 'On the Zine Spectrum'.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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There is no single definition for a zine. Curator and zine maker Lea Cooper created this colourful ‘Zine Spectrum’, which draws on visualisations of the autistic spectrum as a colour wheel. They used it to explore the many different qualities and properties a zine might have, such as being handmade or made for limited distribution and sharing.

Photograph of a gallery display case containing two paper works. One is a handmade folded zine showing a hand drawn face and handwriting. The other is a colour drawing of a woman leaning wistfully on a large cushion.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Wellcome began collecting zines in 2016 to add to the record of contemporary and marginalised experiences of health that were missing from the older collection. PhD student Clara Searle created this single-page, pencil-drawn zine in response to a 19th century Indian print from the collection. The self-portrait expresses her fatigue from the combined impacts of Long COVID, having ADHD and the pressures of being a researcher.

Photograph of two gallery visitors sat watching a film with headphones. Next to the film, a smaller screen shows a BSL translation.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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The zine ‘Ring of Fire’ was made by E.T. Russian in the late 1990s on the themes of becoming disabled, politics, sexuality and gender. Twenty years on, we invited them to reflect on their original zine by creating an audio-described animation. The film depicts disabled friends, mentors and ancestors, with new drawings and collaged images from the original.

Photograph of three people chatting in an exhibition gallery. They each have a zine held open in their hands. Two of them are sat on a large double bed, made up of a pink mattress and orange pillows, the other sits beside them, next to the bed in their wheelchair. In the background is a display table with more zines and a tablet in a holder.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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A bed is more than a space for rest and recovery, it can also be a space for creativity and community-building. Many disabled and chronically ill people create, read and share zines with others from their beds. The bed in the gallery is there for you to relax, read and reflect.

Photograph of a gallery visitor standing in front of a hanging fabric artwork made up of drawings and text stitched with thread. In their hands they are holding a corresponding paper zine of the artwork.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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A section of the display focuses on the work of being disabled and the importance of access and care. The textile and zine ‘Dependant alarm’, created by Chloe Heffernan, is about her experience of giving and receiving care and the invisible and often unacknowledged work that this involves.

Photographic diptych showing a close-up on the left of a person's hands exploring the raise contours of a series of line drawings depicting the human figure. On the right another person explores the same display whilst listening to audio on a pair of headphones.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Artist Rae Lanzerotti created ‘Embodied: a memoir comic’ as an accessible zine for blind and partially sighted readers. This version of 'Embodied' explores their experience of sight loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes tactile, raised pictures, Braille, and an audio-described narration you can listen to on headphones.

Photograph of two gallery visitors creating a personal zine, at a large round table. Each has a pencil in hand and is deep in concentration.
Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a Display at Wellcome Collection. Gallery Photo: Benjamin Gilbert. Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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You can make a zine about anything. In the display you’ll find a zine-making template, pencils, pens, scissors and glue to make your own zine. Feel free you take your zine home or leave it on the shelf for others to read.