With streaming services raising their prices and social media growing more and more stressful for some, many Gen Z’ers have begun returning to physical media and hands-on hobbies for entertainment and stress relief. For UT San Antonio students looking to follow this trend, the campus’s Zine Club offers a space to find community and showcase creativity.
A zine is a miniature booklet or magazine, produced independently and often covering niche subject matter through art, writing and photography. The Zine Club’s Financial Director, Politics and Law major Jimena Felix, describes the club as “A student based magazine here at UTSA directed for the creatives on campus.”
The zines produced by the club are sold monthly on campus, each with a distinct theme.
“We have a topic every month with a design based on that topic, and we accept everyone to submit,” Ike Sampson, the club’s Director of Design, said.
The most recent zine’s theme is DIY, and past zines have featured themes such as nostalgia, analog horror and cybercore.
The club includes people across many different majors, years and interests. But members say the high points of the club are in the artistic expression and the strong community of zine making.
“I love the freedom and creativity you’re allowed to have with the spreads,” member and sophomore psychology major Bella Read said. “And it’s just a lot of cool people coming together.”
The club also partners with the Musicians of Business club to host events, such as the recent mixer held at The Block, where both potential and longtime members of each club got to know each other by filling out icebreaker zines over food and drinks.
“I’ve made all my friends in Zine Club,” Sampson vocalized. “They’ve also helped me become more creative. I’ve taken photos, I’ve done interviews and it’s also helped me find different media and adopt them.” The club welcomes anyone to join, with the officers inviting people of all talents.
“I’m looking for more writers, more drawers and looking to make more collages. I wanna make hella mixed media,” Sampson said.
Interested students can follow the club’s Instagram at @zineclubutsa and see past issues at zineclub.org.
“We wanna create,” Sampson notes. “We wanna hone your skills and give you a voice.”
