Zines, defined as self-published works of art and writing, became popular in the early 1990s during what is known as the riot grrrl movement, a feminist movement that emerged from the punk music scene of Olympia, Washington.

Subjects of zines range from educational and informative to poetry or fiction or solely visual art. The Minneapolis zine community continues to create and distribute zines inspired in part by the riot grrrl movement’s ideals, with special emphasis on intersectionality and inclusivity.

For example, instead of riot grrrl, some people have called for “riot ghouls” to emphasize the need for more inclusivity of nonbinary folx, Kate Kanfield, bassist of Minneapolis punk band VIAL, said.

K.T. Taylor, a Minneapolis digital artist, said zines remind people that anyone can make art with the resources they already have, and formal or special training isn’t necessary to make them.

Taylor created a zine project in 2020 titled “Not Alone, Never Was: A Penpal Zine 4 Rural Queers” that allowed queer people living in rural areas to connect in isolation.

Taylor said they drew inspiration for the project from rural queer communities in the 1960s and 1970s that also connected through similar zines and letter-writing projects.

Gabby Coll, co-founder of the Burn Something Collective, a collective committed to the curation, publication and mentorship of Black, Indigenous and people of color femme, nonbinary and trans artists, said accessibility is a big part of the zine community.

“Historically speaking, the art world has not been accessible to many folx unless you are cis, white and educated through specific institutions,” Coll said.

Burn Something Collective hopes to provide access to art and zine resources previously not available to trans folx and folx of color.

“There are some really powerful artists making important work in this format,” Coll said.

Self-taught graphic designer and University of Minnesota graduate allison anne said they remember being exposed to zines in the late 90s and early 2000s after gaining internet access.

“I was just fascinated by all of it,” anne said.

In their mid-20s, anne started making zines, and they started making them regularly in the past year during quarantine. They said making zines helped them overcome imposter syndrome as an artist because zines aren’t meant to be perfect and instead are meant to create community.

“It’s an opportunity to share experiences, knowledge, different kinds of observations,” they said.

Aaron King, a Minneapolis zinester and previous co-organizer of Twin Cities Zine Fest, said zines are important because of the “low barrier to entry.”

“Some voices and ideas might not be accepted by larger publishing houses but still want to do that work and form a community,” King said.

Zine libraries continue to preserve zines. Such libraries include Hennepin County Library, the Minneapolis Community and Technical College library, the University of Minnesota library and the recently established Aapli Library in northeast Minneapolis.

Like many events since the pandemic began, Arts Advocacy Day, an annual Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA) event, will look different this year.

The usual day-long event will be a week long to allow for more Zoom meetings between attendees and legislators, taking place from Feb. 16 to Feb. 19.

The agenda for the week includes a short rally and training on the first day, followed by scheduled meetings with legislators from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and ending with a virtual happy hour on the last day.

Typically, the event draws anywhere between 500 to 1,000 people. Sheila Smith, the executive director of MCA, said she hopes having Arts Advocacy Day online will make it easier for more people to participate.

“We’re working hard to make this event as big as possible,” Smith said.

Arts Advocacy Day seeks to emphasize the importance of the arts and the need for state art funding. In 2008 the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment was passed on Arts Advocacy Day, tripling art funding in Minnesota.

These funds allow art organizations such as the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) to continue providing services to the community, including online workshops and other events.

“Without grant funding, organizations as we know them would cease to exist,” Elysa Voshell, the executive director of MCBA, said.

While the MCBA has halted in-person classes, it is providing a variety of virtual workshops, exhibits and monthly get-togethers, including “Art Practice Circle,” where artists can share what they’ve been working on with each other every first Monday of the month, Voshell said.

“Unfortunately, sometimes I think people think the arts are not an essential need,” Voshell said. “And I think they absolutely are.”

Prior to COVID-19, Regula Russelle, a long-time member of the MCBA Artist Collective, said she had never taught online before but now found she enjoys it. Teaching virtually allows her to engage with people across the state and country who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate, especially those in greater Minnesota, she said.

“It’s limited in some ways,” Russelle said of online teaching. “But it’s really also very expansive in some other ways.”

Her favorite class to teach is called “Charting an Art Practice,” where she works with artists to establish a daily art practice to achieve their artistic goals, she said.

“Art can help lift spirits. It can help us through a difficult time,” Russelle said.

MCBA plans to continue offering virtual classes in the future alongside in-person classes once COVID-19 conditions ease up, Voshell said.

Amid a state budget deficit, protecting art funding from cuts is more crucial than ever, according to Smith. While virtual events are happening, these events aren’t bringing in the kind of money needed to sustain artists, she said.

“There’s people losing their houses and apartments. It’s very bad,” Smith said.

Despite these financial hardships, Smith said she believes the community is stronger than COVID-19.

“We’re gonna get past this,” Smith said. “Hang in there.”