Join us IN PERSON for our 7th Annual Book + Zine Fest, a celebration of regional press, zine, comic, and paper arts! This beloved event is a wonderful opportunity to come peruse and support the work of talented comics artists, graphic novelists, letterpress printers, zine makers, and MORE!
When
Friday, March 3, 6-9pm during the First Friday Art Crawl events!
Saturday, Mar 4, 10am-4pm
Where
Artspace! 378 Aylmer St. North, Peterborough Ontario!
Accessibility
Gallery entrance and washrooms are wheelchair accessible.
Masks required for all attendees, vendors, and volunteers, unless exempt.
In the lead up to B+Z, we’re offering two key, FREE events for creatives and community members working with zines and/or interested in book-binding.
February 17 Folding Party 7pm-9pm - We know how much work it can be to prep for an event like this, so why not do it together? Join us at Artspace on Feb 17th in the evening and bring along anything and everything that needs folding, stapling, packaging, labelling, or making! Snacks and light refreshments provided.
February 26 Book Binding Workshop 1pm-4pm (Registration now CLOSED)- Beginner friendly, instructed by Jeff Macklin of Jackson Creek Press.
Read more about each of our 2023 Book + Zine Vendors below, and click on their names to read more on their website and social media accounts:
Elisha Rubacha, Bird Buried Press:
Bird Buried Press is a small press located in Peterborough, Ontario, publishing writers and artists from or living in Ontario. Publications are assembled by hand, and often include one-of-a-kind features.
Angela Hennessey:
Angela was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada with her family in 1955. having always engaged in a wide variety of creative pursuits, in 2001 she began to explore painting. attracted to the works of Tom Thomson, The Group of Seven and the Impressionists, she enthusiastically embraces colour and bold textural effects in her own work. Using a wide variety of tools, inks and printing techniques, Angela continues to learn with expert instructors, participating in numerous workshops each year. She has earned many awards at juried shows and is an active printmaking instructor. Her work is found in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
Ben Hatcher, Fart Journal and Creepy Doll Museum:
It is commonly accepted that hot-dogs are harbingers of joy. Roasting them over an open fire is proof positive that long and lazy summer nights are upon us, finding one in your rolled up socks is an unparalleled omen of good fortune, and drawing them during a global pandemic truly connects one with the zeitgeist of the time. During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ben solicited themes of human activities from friends, colleagues, and casual acquaintances. Then, every day for the first 50 days of the pandemic, he drew a picture of a hot-dog engaged in that theme's human activity. In addition, along with Kathryn Bahun, Ben is a co-curator of Peterborough's Creepy Doll Museum. Humour is at the centre of the his work, and his clearly amateur skillset has never stopped him from enjoying the projects that he undertakes.
Kathryn Bahun, Keetarella and Creepy Doll Museum:
Kathryn was raised in a religious family and when she went secular, she couldn't fully turn her back on religion. She earned a degree in Archaeology, and Religion and Culture, and has always been fascinated by how the sacred meets the profane. She draws on her own experiences (like dating, and eating pancakes) when imagining the aspects of life that are never mentioned in the Bible. Using images from bibles, as well as her own illustrations, Kathryn creates absurd and anachronistic comics and greeting cards. She is also the co-curator of The Creepy Doll Museum, serving as one of the artistic directors and writers. She sews costumes for a local theatre group, and makes many things by upcycling textiles. Kathryn’s life goal is to be like Mr. Dress-Up. Kathryn lives and creates in Peterborough, ON.
Bennett Bedoukian, O Underworld! Press:
bennett bedoukian is a member of the Armenian diaspora, musician, and letterpress printer residing in traditional Michi-Saagiig territory/treaty 20/ Havelock Ontario. Since 2016 he has operated O Underworld! Press, which focuses on printing fine-press books, broadsides, and concert posters, all with handset monotype and lino-cuts.
Susie Armstrong, Whimsy & Wonder:
Susie Armstrong aka Whimsy & Wonder creates illustrations of the little things that spark joy: a candy coloured sunset, a cat on the windowsill, a beat up old Westfalia. She has a BFA in Drawing & Painting from OCAD and a Master's in Illustration from Falmouth University. When she's not drawing, she's taking care of her rambunctious 18 month-old daughter, Maria-Rose.
Erica Richmond, Open Sky Stories:
Erica Richmond is the author of two self-published books including: Pixie and the Bees, a whimsical tale about learning to trust yourself while living with an invisible illness; and The Mail Art Stories Project: Mail Art in the Time of Covid-19, a collection of mail art from around the world that chronicles the Covid-19 pandemic. Through her business Open Sky Stories, Erica leads a variety of workshops which focus on connection and healing using expressive writing.
Bethany Davis is an artist and illustrator based in Peterborough, Ontario. She completed a degree in Drawing and Painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design University in spring of 2020. Bethany’s drawings are mostly black and white digital illustrations and reference her experience and observation of the land. Through text and images, they also tackle emotions surrounding growing pains, melancholy, and grief.
Marta Chudolinska is a multidisciplinary artist born in Poland, and now based in Peterborough, Ontario. She makes zines, comics, and artist books using woodcut & linocut prints, papercuts and a variety of drawing materials. Her papercut comic, "Babcia", a historical memoir which aims to rebuild her connection to her grandmother, cut short by immigration and illness, has been serialized in Broken Pencil Magazine since 2013.
Christopher Green, Mumblethief:
Mumblethief Christopher Green is a cartoonist and musician who comes from the Alaskan wilderness and currently resides in Peterborough, Ontario. He is currently working on opening a portal into the world of the Turtle Library at www.theturtlelibrary.com. His classic newspaper strip-inspired comic about a strange little bird and her wondrous bowel movements can be read at www.thatlittlebird.com (available in both Japanese and English). His professional work includes comics, illustration, graphic design, and animation for the likes of Story Planet, Carousel Magazine, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Take Action Films, and the band Black Kids. He currently serves as an advisor for the wonderful Canada Comics Open Library, and as head librarian of, you guessed it, the Turtle Library (branch #2).
Debbie Waker, Debbie Waker Handmade Paper:
I endeavour to make eco-friendly paper. I use shredded recycled computer paper which I mix with plant fibres. These are usually vegetables and plants from the garden such as leek, onion, beets, corn and hosta. Although I mainly sell individual sheets of paper, I also make books and cards.
Sonia Nickles, SoftGentlePancake Press:
SoftGentlePancake Press hails from San Francisco, California, and creates zines and comics about navigating sex work, grief, queer sex, and absurdism. SGP also provides free guides on disaster preparedness and sex work safety 101 and makes wildly cheap and classy homoerotic Beavis and Butthead t-shirts.
Ashley Hall, Use Protection VFX:
I am a visual snacks and animations artist specializing in projected work and printed matter.
Josh Rosen, Josh Rosen Illustration:
Josh Rosen (he/him) is a Toronto-based cartoonist and illustrator. A graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies, Josh has done illustration work for magazines, animation projects, documentary films and tabletop roleplaying games, as well as a slew of small-press comics work. He enjoys making comics about spooky stuff, nerdy stuff, and real-world history. His first graphic novel, The Good Fight (Scholastic Canada 2021, with author Ted Staunton), was long-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award. When not actively drawing, Josh works in children’s arts and literacy education.
Adam Aylard, Adam Aylard Comics:
Adam Aylard is cartoonist creating comics and animation. Adam produces cleverly subversive comics that critically examine life, religion and the human experience. Projects include the webcomic Super Baby Jesus, the serialized adventure comic The Last Sun, Personal Planet a three colour fully risograph printed comic and more.
Anne Pasek, Experimental Media and Methods Lab:
The Experimental Methods and Media Lab (EMM Lab) provides resources and structure for interdisciplinary collaboration at Trent University. Led by Dr Anne Pasek, EMM Lab aims to foster capacities in emerging and experimental methods of inquiry that draw on strengths—and reach audiences—beyond traditional modes of academic writing. It is both a media lab, providing production equipment for film, video, audio, print, and critical code projects, and a methods co-laboratory, in which faculty and students explore creative methods of research and research-dissemination. With close affiliations to the Cultural Studies department, and with a mandate to actively participate in Peterborough’s arts community, EMM Lab facilitates access to media production equipment, peer expertise, and creative collaboration.
With a focus on sustainability, Joanne’s backyard has become the source for her materials. Branches are used to form the skeleton for her lanterns, and plants used for paper making are grown for their fibres, mucilage, and colours. Joanne has recently received a project grant from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Arts Council. With continued support from the Ontario Arts Council, she teaches paper making and lantern making workshops in schools throughout Ontario.
Aditi Sharma, Captain Affable:
My name is Aditi Sharma and I am a photographer and artist based in Peterborough, Ontario. I am originally from Nepal. My interest lies in writing, painting and taking photos and experimenting with mixed media. I have a special place in my heart for the whimsy.
I am a small local artist, spewing my emotions onto a canvas to attempt at creating something someone might understand. I mainly dabble in digital art.
Tara Azzopardi is the author of 2 poetry collections: Last Stop, Lonesome Town (Mansfield Press), which was nominated for the ReLit Award; and Or God (O!Underworld Press). She is also the founder and publisher of Perpetual Motion Machine Magazine, The Modern Classics of Literature Series, and the Animals Head Lines Series. She also makes collage art, videos and occasionally, music.
Rhea Shahe, BIPOC Self Love Zine:
This zine was created in 2021 in an effort to showcase BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Person of Colour) artists within the Nogojiwanong/Peterborough area. In accordance with our theme, each edition of our zine focuses on a specific aspect of self-love, whether it be pleasure, empowerment or self-care. In the following pages you will find visual art and poetry, alongside information about the creator. BIPOC perspectives are incredibly valuable to our arts community, but they are often overlooked. We hope that this zine will help highlight the talent and significance of our racialized artists. We encourage you to support the creators featured in this zine by purchasing and engaging with their work.
Jeffrey Macklin, Jackson Creek Press:
Jeff works primarily with relief printing (letterpress) and mixed media (watercolour and acrylic). He often employs words as visual triggers, as well as present-day/historical pop-culture icons and figures in both his print work and his mixed media pieces.
Rob Niezen is a painter, printmaker and illustrator. His art has been shown in solo exhibitions at Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Art Gallery of Northumberland, John M. Parrott Gallery and Art Gallery of Bancroft, as well as in over forty juried exhibitions, and he has participated in the annual Kawartha Studio Tour from 2010 to 2021. In 2018 he was one of the selected artists included in Roll-O-Matic, Public Acts of Printmaking, as part of ArtsWeek Peterborough. Rob created the illustrations for Ameliya Disappears, a children’s book published in 2021 by Jamaican author Angela Punky Stultz. In 2022 he created Cross Cut: traditional Ontario folk songs revisited that includes four exhibitions planned for 2023 and 2024, as well as a songbook co-produced with music historian Dr. Allan Kirby, and a music CD with traditional music group Backwoodsmen. In 2015 Peterborough County awarded Rob Niezen a Leadership in Arts & Culture Recognition Award. He was a board member at the Art School of Peterborough for six years, and is still involved as a volunteer. His work is in private and corporate collections across Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States, including Peterborough Regional Health Centre, SickKids Toronto and Siemens Canada. Rob Niezen is partly self taught and studied at Vrije Akademies in The Hague and Delft, the Netherlands, and at the Art School of Peterborough. He was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, and lives and works in Douro, Ontario, Canada.