Wellcome Collection presents Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice

This spring, Wellcome Collection presents Zines Forever! DIY Publications and Disability Justice, a new free display exploring the role of DIY publishing in sharing and shaping experiences of disability, health, identity and justice. This thought-provoking display showcases a selection of around 30 zines by disabled artists and makers, alongside film, audio, textiles, and paintings, offering a rich and immersive look at the power of self-publishing.

Zines are self-published works in which makers share their personal experiences, feelings and ideas. They have long been a tool for personal storytelling, resistance and self-expression. Drawing from Wellcome Collection’s growing library of over 1,400 zines themed around lived experiences of health, Zines Forever! will explore the role of zines as an accessible, visual and sometimes playful means for expressing the complex, messy feelings that can arise in response to being, or becoming disabled, from joy and solidarity to grief and resistance.

The display is structured around key themes that highlight the role of zines as personal and political tools, as well as vital expressions of power and agency. One section explores how zines help to navigate the experience of becoming or being disabled, whilst ‘The work of being disabled: access and care’ highlights zines that explore the physical, emotional and political labour involved in navigating a world that often fails to accommodate disabled people. ‘Making from Bed’ looks at how zines challenge traditional ideas about who can produce media and from where, showing how creativity and community building can thrive in spaces of rest, such as beds.

In questioning what it means for an institution like Wellcome Collection to collect and preserve these deeply personal and ephemeral items, Zines Forever! opens a conversation about representation, archiving, and the importance of amplifying marginalised voices.

Alongside zines held by Wellcome Collection, Zines Forever! features newly commissioned works by leading disabled artists and zine-makers, expanding the dialogue around accessibility, identity, and creative expression. San Francisco-based artist Rae Lanzerotti presents a new iteration of their zine ‘Embodied: a memoir comic’, which explores their experience of sight loss during the COVID-19 pandemic through tactile raised images, Braille, and audio description. Multi-sensory artist E.T. Russian revisits their influential 1990s zine ‘Ring of Fire’ with ‘Ring of Fire: Continuations’, a new animation and audio-described soundscape that collages original zine imagery with new drawings and reflections on Disability Justice, care, and memory.

A newly created graphic representation of ‘Spectrum of Zines’ by guest curator Dr Lea Cooper will also feature in the display. Inspired by visualisations of the autistic spectrum, this piece maps the different qualities that a zine can have, challenging rigid definitions and celebrating the diverse possibilities of DIY publishing.

Visitors to Zines Forever! will experience a warm, comfortable setting, featuring seating and a bed to encourage rest and contemplation. A dedicated zine-making station will offer an opportunity for visitors to contribute to the ongoing dialogue by creating their own zines, fostering a collective space for expression and solidarity.

Zines Forever! is curated by Dr Lea Cooper (artist and zinemaker) and Adam Rose (Assistant Curator, Wellcome Collection). It is open from 14 March 2025 – 14 September and is free to visit. The display was developed with the consultation of Melanie Grant (Collections Development Lead) and Nicola Cook (Collections Information Librarian). It is the second in a series of displays dedicated to exploring stories about power in health and care, inspired by our collections and will be accompanied by a programme of live events.

Zines Forever! continues Wellcome Collection’s commitment to expanding its holdings of zines related to health and lived experience. If zine-makers or distributors would like to contribute to the collection, please contact [email protected].