Hosted and commissioned by Folketone-based creative studio SD Projects, and curated by artist Hamja Ahsan, Zine Mela is a three-day artistic exploration featuring zines, comics, makers, social justice, solidarity, alternatives, contemporary craft, small press, underground books, punks, photography, illustration, prints, posters, and graphics from across South Asia and its diaspora. His collection archives from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sri Lanka.
Visit SD Projects’ studio at The Old Post Office and indulge in a typical winter pastime of a veritable South Asian home: peruse zines, enjoy a hot cup of chai, share momos and play carrom and other South Asian board games. The exhibition is free to attend.
The Zine Mela also includes a film night on Friday 6 February with screenings of Kindness vs Home Office featuring Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan (AKA Brown Hijabi) and Hamja Ahsan and Three Colours Green by Shahed Saleem and James Waiman and other shorts and animations. A zine-making art workshop led by Nepali Diaspora collective Rodhi Ghor will be held on Sunday 8 February. Tickets are priced at £2.50 with all ticket revenues donated to Transport for Women in Ashford.
Hamja Ahsan
Hamja Ahsan is an award-winning artist, writer, public speaker, curator and activist based in London, UK. Creator of Zine Mela, Hamja has collected zines for over 30 years, building an archive to promote zines as a form of resistance as well as authoring Shy Radicals, the book.