Queer Zine Archive Project

The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is a Milwaukee-based archive dedicated to preserving queer zines and queer zine culture. Part of the archive's mission is to make the collection accessible through digitizing these zines and making them publicly accessible in an online format. The archive has received zine donations from across the world.[1] QZAP has been noted by University of Milwaukie professor Joyce Latham as a powerful "response of the queer community to the history, and practice, of marginalization and disregard."[2]

Queer Zine Archive Project
EstablishedNovember 2003
LocationMilwaukee, Wisconsin
TypeArchive, history museum
Websiteqzap.org

QZAP was founded in November 2003 by Milo Miller and Chris Wilde. It maintains a physical collection in Milwaukee and a free online archive of digitized zines.[1][3]

Mission statement

The mission of the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is to establish a "living history" archive of past and present queer zines and to encourage current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create. In curating such a unique aspect of culture, we value a collectivist approach that respects the diversity of experiences that fall under the heading "queer." The primary function of QZAP is to provide a free on-line searchable database of the collection with links allowing users to view or download electronic copies of zines. By providing access to the historical canon of queer zines we hope to make them more accessible to diverse communities and reach wider audiences.

— QZAP, "About the Archive"[4]

Collections

QZAP began when its founders digitized their personal collection of roughly 350 queer-punk zines and put them in an online database. Through donations, the collection has (as of July 2018) grown to over 2,500 zines, nearly 600 of which have been digitized and are freely accessible online. The physical collection is stored in filing cabinets in the founders' Milwaukee home.[1]

Digitized items from the QZAP collection also form part of the Zines collection at the Digital Transgender Archive.[5] Miller and Wilde digitize zines to further diversify queer stories, stating that they want to make more public "stories aren’t being told in other ways."[6]

See also

References

Notes

  1. Seyler, Lainey. "The largest independent LGBTQ zine collection is stored in a Riverwest basement, and you can see some of it online". Journal Sentinel. jsonline.com. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  2. Latham, Joyce M. (2017). "Queered collecting: Supporting the personal within the communal: A case study of QZAP (Queer Zines Archive Project, Milwaukee, WI)". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Hastings, Dorothy (2020-07-07). "In zines, LGBTQ creators find a place to tell their own stories". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  4. "About the Archive". QZAP Zine Archive. Queer Zine Archive Project. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  5. "Zines - Digital Transgender Archive". www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  6. Figa, Alenka (2019-07-25). "Our Queer Older Siblings Will Guide Us: An Interview with the Queer Zine Archive Project". Women Write About Comics.


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