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Come to the edge…

Fanzine
“Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them and they flew.”

Guillaume Apollinaire

We are creative people. We each have our own unique personal voice. But how do we get our artistic endeavours out there? How do we connect with each other and the world and find a way to be heard?
It’s a question that endlessly plagues me – as a home learning student there isn’t a physical establishment to be a part of, there isn’t a ‘class’ to belong to each day. It seems that we might have things against us from the beginning, but I keep questioning why that should be.
Maybe this is just one of the challenges to see if we have got what it takes, to see how committed we are to living our dreams?
It was whilst I was reading the wonderful ‘Arty’ artzine, edited by Cathy Lomax that it dawned on me. If it’s too hard to get people together physically with an exhibition, why not create a mobile version – a fanzine. The content of Arty is simple and poignant, it is raw, exciting and fresh….and most importantly, I think it is something that we could all do together.
So this is my call out to anyone with the OCA who has something to say and would like to join in this venture. We are looking for contributors, whether as a one off or to join our 9-strong group for the ride.
I want the fanzine to be a vehicle for us to be real, to be daring, and to have a platform to be heard. There are no examples included here as we want to hear what you have to say, in whatever style feels right. There are very few restrictions – the main ask is that you submit a pdf of an image that you are happy to be replicated in black and white and some writing to go along with it (a side of A4 or less for the writing part is fine). It’s an exploration of the written word alongside images, to see how one feeds into the other and becomes more than the sum of its parts.
We are called ‘Edge’ and our first issue is about ‘Absence’ – so if you’d like to know more or if you have some ideas on this theme, we’d love to hear from you. We would like to include students from all the OCA courses and, therefore, all forms of creativity are welcome. We are aiming to get the first issue printed mid-late September so there’s still time if you join in this very exciting project!
E-mail me at Angela513795@oca.ac.uk (Understanding Painting Media student)


Posted by author: Angela Johnson

8 thoughts on “Come to the edge…

  • Great idea – I need to be “edgier” so you may hear from me in the future. The very best of luck with it!

  • Sounds great- are you going to connect it to a website so that other people can download it as well as a digital version?
    Have you thought about how you will publicise it and build up a readership/following?
    Are you going to have any editorial policy – or establish a theme each edition?I know from starting magazines in the past that pre-posting themes can galvanise potential contributors to work towards something and allow you as a team to an overview of what is out there.
    Good luck – it’s a fab idea and an exciting venture.

  • Brilliant idea. Perhaps you would like just writing as well as there are writing students at OCA though visual arts seem to have a higher profile.

  • This is a great collaborative initiative and quite in context of art history (e.g. DaDa) Havnt seen the mag , agree with Jo that a digital version would be handy. Or perhaps there is a concept behind paper only? Artistic message? How do I get a copy? Wish you and the team good celebration mood. Keep the momentum . Geeting a bit jealous 😉 great job !

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