Bombay Zine Fest fosters camaraderie, new work on bold themes
Seven editions of the fest have demonstrated that zines, when they are accessible, inspire others to create their own work, say organisers
Mumbai: Vadodara resident Viveck Nagrajan has fond memories of the inaugural edition of Bombay Zine Fest in 2017, when zines were strung up on the wall of a construction shack covered in blue tarpaulin. “Everything had a very punk and DIY (do it yourself) feel to it, and I loved it,” he told Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the eighth Bombay Zine Fest, which commenced at Candies in Bandra on Friday.

The fest has come a long way from its inaugural year, when artists did not have dedicated, paid for tables to showcase their work and only a few activist publications featured among participants, said organisers Aqui Thami and Himanshu S. The 2024 edition has 35 paid tables helmed by artists as well as well-known publications like Blaft and Agents of Ishq, apart from common tables which display the work of 140 artists. It features zines of various sizes and types which combine photography, text, digital illustrations and paintings, alongside postcards and prints.
The table allocated to Nagrajan has several old zines, including his first which remains the top seller, as well as new ones, alongside badges and stickers made from hand-painted bottle caps. Pointing to his latest work titled ‘Yearnings and sweet nothings’, he says, “I was conflicted about publishing this one as the material is from my journal entries, about heavy subjects like the desire for intimacy and gender expression.”
Asked why he took the trouble of travelling to Mumbai from Vadodara for the fest even though he may not make any profits from sales, he said instantly, “Because I like it! It’s the only opportunity I get to display my work. Even when people don’t buy anything, I like observing how they look at my zines and are struck by how the works resonate with their own lives.”
Aqui Thami and Himanshu S, the duo behind the fest, said the thrill of creating a space that fosters work by independent artists is what drives them. “Bombay did not have much of a zine culture when we started the fest. In fact, the fest was the first of its kind in all of south Asia,” said Thami.
Seven editions of the fest have demonstrated that zines, when they are accessible, inspire others to create their own work, the duo said. “So many people who came to the fest as audience ended up getting their own tables in later years,” said Thami. There have also been instances where artists returned to the fest year after year, exploring more complex subjects through their work, said Himanshu, who runs the art space Fluxus Chapel on Chapel Road, Bandra. “It doesn’t just stay stuck at the level of design,” he said.
Butool Abbas, a participating artist at this year’s fest, agrees. “When I first got a table at the fest, it was an outlet for artistic expression apart from my work as a UX (user experience) designer,” she said. Abbas had then made a small zine about her Left-leaning proclivities titled ‘Ulte haath ka khana khana’ (Eating with the wrong hand), which still prompts people to ask her which hand she eats with. “But as I’ve continued showing my work, this being my third time, I’ve delved into far more vulnerable parts of my mind,” she said.
Her zine titled ‘Diss-order’, she said, looks at “how we as a society cope with disorder”. It features screenshots of the ways she and others adapted to sudden changes during the Covid pandemic. Not one to be caught up by seriousness, she also has a zine with messages typed by her cat, Kimchi.
“There’s nothing like the camaraderie and connection that we artists get from here,” said Priyanka Paul, an artist whose work was displayed in an art gallery for the first time this month. Paul was introduced to zines at an earlier edition of the fest, when she was still in college, and has not looked back since.
“I incorporated what I saw in the zines in my work and found it to be a big hit. I have designed some book covers and my work has been exhibited in a gallery – all without any formal art education, thanks to this place where I started out,” said Paul, who runs the Instagram account @artwhoring.
“At the end of the fest, we swap zines amongst each other and make great friends,” she said, smiling in anticipation of new friendships and art works.

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