Zine and not heard

Three decades' worth of Cork's lost voices will re-emerge this summer thanks to a new fanzine exhibition which opened this wekk at UCC Library.

Publish and be Damned will unveil zines and independent magazines produced by individuals and groups in Cork spanning three decades, from 1975 until 2005 and the dawn of digital and social media.

Presented by Cork Zine Archive and curated by Siobhán Bardsley and Fiona O’Mahony, the exhibition has successfully crowd sourced the biggest selection Cork-produced fanzines and zines ever seen.

Crónán Ó Doibhlin, Head of Research Collections, UCC Library, described the zines as an important social record, which served as “the only space for voices that would otherwise have been lost amidst the dull din of the status quo”.

Mr Ó Doibhlin said: “Each fanzine produced in Cork tells its own story, with its own unique energy forever Xeroxed into every scribbled line of text and collage of images.

“They preserve an honest, no-holds-barred perspective on city life that was specific to each individual or group for whom the fanzine was conceived.”

As part of the project, the Cork Zine Archive has called on the public to donate additional titles to the collection, which will find a home in UCC Library.

Titles in the collection include Plink Plink Fizz, Protest, Sunny Days, No More Plastic Pitches, and Zeitgeist, encompassing a wide selection of interest.

Publish and be Damned is currently open to the public at UCC Library and will run until the end of September.