It's International Zine Month and KALW is exploring the Bay Area’s thriving zine subculture! Last week, we took you to a zine party in the Mission. This week, KALW's Kristie Song takes us to a workshop at Now Place, a new space that centers bilingual zines in the heart of Chinatown.
"So maybe before we start zine-ing, a quick show of hands…How many of you all are comfortable speaking Mandarin?" asks Yibing Du. "How many, English?"
It’s Sunday and a dozen people are gathered in a cozy loft with writer and workshop host Yibing Du. They're huddled around a large, rectangular table littered with magazine clippings, cardstock, and pens – and lots and lots of zines.
This space is dedicated to building community in the Asian diaspora. Many of the workshop participants immigrated from or lived in China for several years. The theme for the day: reflecting on family recipes and food that’s reminiscent of home. For Julia Han, it’s a kou shui ji recipe from her dad.
"But I'm not very artistic," says Julia. "I'm not sure how well I'll be able to put that out onto paper, but I'll try."
Many of the participants had never made a zine before, so Yibing jumps in and breaks it down.
"Step one of zine folding, a zine is really nice," says Yibing. "You just start with a sheet of paper. Maybe we can all, everyone can grab a piece of paper. Don't feel too precious about it. Those are really nice paper, but you can't feel too precious about them right now."
Over the next two hours, a new collection of zines is created amidst lively conversation. They include drawings of Hong Kong milk tea and Beijing-style tomato and egg dumplings. People write poems, short stories, and diary entries about where they come from, homes they’ve lost, and what they’re trying to build now.
For Now Place founder Akaa Ling, this in-between space is a site for reclamation — to reexamine the ways we search for belonging.
"As long as it makes sense for us to connect, for us to resist, for us to be ourselves," says Akaa. "I want to try to build a little world that’s different from the world we are having right now."
