Community Arts Education presents: The Zine Workshop Series

Submitted by: Julia Davids

Community Arts Education started out as a small project, including the suggested creation of an on-campus mural that was proposed to the Faculty of Education Executive Committee in Winter 2021. The goal of the project was to supplement our learning throughout the duration of our time spent in the B.Ed program at uOttawa in response to the need for more genuine connections while we were learning online. Since the project was approved in March of 2021, we have expanded and evolved into an active student led-initiative that is growing and emerging within the Faculty of Education.

We are hoping to continue creating a sense of community belonging by bringing teacher candidates and Arts educators together through a shared sense of purpose and vision of a better world for our youth. We are passionate about creating safe equitable spaces that raise awareness of important social justice issues in both our local and global communities, and have been inspired by non-colonial sources of knowledge and sharing. We are also here to support and inspire each other throughout our professional development journey as friends and new educators by sharing insights, resources and arts-based knowledge each step of the way.

We are very excited to present our first workshop series all about Zines. If you haven’t heard of a Zine before then you’re in the right place! “Zine” is shorthand for a homemade, often hand crafted magazine that can be photocopied and reproduced for creative or educational purposes. Zines can act as a free-form platform for sharing your writing, artwork, or poems in a way that is capable of reaching a larger audience beyond the classroom. Zines can come in many different shapes and sizes including self-reflective or artistic exploration, advocacy, informational, or simply for the fun of it!

Learn more about how you can use this teen-friendly art form in your intermediate or senior Arts or generalist classroom. These free, interactive workshop series will include 4 student-led virtual workshops where you will learn how to make a Zine, a Mini-zine, a Quaranzine, a Social Justice Zine, an Augmented Reality Zine, and more!

These workshops are open to all students or staff at uOttawa as well as educators at any local school board. Individuals of any age, level, or artistic ability can participate, including (or especially) beginners. You can register for a workshop here: @communityartseducation

Organizer Hilary Dow will be co-presenting with fellow teacher candidates Amy Skodak and Isabella Di Stefano to guide you through these 4 interactive workshops where you will have the opportunity to participate in guided art activities that you can use in the classroom. Here are some of the suggested materials you might want to have on hand to participate in the art activities for the optional studio hour:

1. Paper, scrap paper, clippings, photos, etc. that you have at home
2. Glue, staples,tape or string for binding the Zine
3. Your preferred mark making tools and colours
4. Scissors

^{We can’t wait to see you there!}

Register here: Communityartseducationuottawa.org

*Keep an eye out for more info about our upcoming Social Justice Art[s] Education Webinar series with selected guest speakers, coming July 2021.

Visual Credit: images are from the the CAE website.