The Queer/Trans Zine Fest (QTZ) is a free zine fair held on unceded Narragansett land (Providence, RI) organized for and by queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people.
QTZ 2024 is at The Steel Yard on Saturday, August 31st from 11AM–5PM. There will also be an opening reading at the Binch/QAW Studio on Friday, August 30st.
Our definition of “zine” is deliberately broad. Our exhibitors include poets, comic artists, community organizations, and activist collectives, as well as makers of ceramics, apparel, herbal medicines, and textiles.
QTZ is committed to reducing barriers to access. In addition to not charging a tabling fee, we offer stipends to exhibitors. QTZ is wheelchair accessible, all ages, and outdoors. Read more details about fest accessibility.
This year's peach mascot and logo were design by the incredibly talented illustrator, Karen Czap!
QTZ 2024 Exhibitors
A Liang Chan
New York, NY
A Liang Chan makes comics, zines, and illustrations, and has recently started doing a lot of risograph printing. They are interested in work that feels like a strange hum in the back of your head.
A Reading Room: Promise to Revisit
Providence, RI
Audrey Buhain is a Filipina writer from Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. She now lives in Providence, where she and her poetry have found a printing home in Binch Press/Queer.Archive.Work.
Vic Xu is a multimedia artist from southern North Carolina currently based in Providence. Drawing from the language of their everyday, Vic's work flows between images, objects, and diasporic memory to sit with moments of quiet possibility.
Together, they are translating their work into the more tangible and accessible form of print objects, which they are excited to let into queer/trans communities’ lives in ways that allow for repeated revisitation. They are curating a “reading room” atmosphere for their QTZ table which will center slow meditation and non-monetary exchange around their prints and zines, although all material will still be available for sale.
addie boyd & an talatinian
providence, ri
addie and an are best friends, writers, sculptors, jewelers, and drawers living in providence, ri. addie can be found about town as the maestro of three writing, a monthly free-writing event held at local venuelost bag, and anya can be found as the mayor of bagel towne, a monthly popup brought to you from the wizards of toasters bakery collective.
www.instagram.com/addiewboyd
www.instagram.com/impossiblelizard
www.proofofsomething.cargo.site
www.addieboyd.com
Afi Goncalves
Providence,RI
My artistic journey is a continuous exploration of self-expression, fueled by a boundless imagination and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative expression. Through my work, I seek to inspire curiosity, spark conversation, and evoke emotion, inviting viewers to embark on a journey of discovery alongside me.
AJ's Print & Photo Studio
Woburn, MA
AJ Cuevas (she/they), owner of AJ’s Print & Photo Studio, is a mixed Afro-Dominican queer artist from the Greater Boston, MA area. They create handmade products such as zines, stickers, pins, prints, and more, all with the goal of educating people and communities on important social issues in accessible ways. Education is the key to creating a liberated society, free from anti-Blackness, racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism and more.
www.instagram.com/ajsprintphotostudio
linktr.ee/ajsprintphotostudio
Alina Wang
Philadelphia, PA
Alina is a visual artist living and working on unceded Lenape land (Philadelphia). Through photography, printmaking, and video, Alina explores gesture, process, materiality, and what it means to document and remember.
apollo rios lomba
Providence RI
Apollo Rios Lomba is a local Providence artist.
He studied at Pratt Institute and currently is a worker-owner at White Electric. Their art is narrative driven illustration that blends Queer Black culture and magical fantasy elements. As a big fan of anime and video games, they often make fan art and other works.
www.instagram.com/apolloartie/
apollorioslombaart.myportfolio.com/work
Art by Des
Boston, MA
Des is a black non-binary maker of all sorts! They create art that explores dreams, memory, gender, sexuality & grief through collage, mixed media, painting, found poetry, and zines and more. Des enjoys using visual art as a kind of poetry, & finding beauty & truth in contradictions. They love connecting with others through their work across a spectrum of emotions and experiences, & making keepsakes to bring others closer to joy and liberation.
Aya Rothwell (Akadori Studios)
Pawtucket, RI
Aya is a mixed-race genderqueer artist living in Rhode Island. Aya creates watercolor comics about animals, science, and fantasy. Aya has a background in ecology and environmental management, and WILL talk about insects with you.
www.ayarothwell.com/
www.instagram.com/akadori_studios/
bsky.app/profile/akadoristudios.bsky.social
x.com/akadoristudios
Beyond the Understanding of Gender at Project Weber/RENEW
Providence
Beyond the Understanding of Gender at Project Weber/RENEW provides harm reduction, and emergency services to transgender, non-binary, and gender-queer individuals. We specifically cater to those who are doubly stigmatized due to our sexual orientations, HIV+, sex work, drug use, recovery, being unhoused, mental health, disability, and racism. We offer weekly support groups, case management, safety planning, court support, legal name change navigation, and LGBTQIA+ trainings for groups and organizations. Our peer-led approach ensures that our staff can provide empathetic, relatable, and effective support to our clients.
In the words of Tatiana Amiyah Jones “Alone I can’t, Together we can”
Bithiah Holton
Medford, MA
Bithiah Holton is a queer, Black, and Mexican-American illustrator, printmaker, ceramicist, and educator. Their work is a celebration of life, identity, and community, informed by their love for food and personal mental health journey.
www.instagram.com/bithiahsart
www.bithiahsart.com
youtube.com/@bithiahsart
Blue Wallick
Pawtucket, RI
Blue is an illustrator, tattoo artist, and passionate dog parent based in Rhode Island. Their work is centered around childhood whimsy: growing up in a trailer park, collecting scraped knees, and looking for fairies.
bluewallick.dog
instagram.com/puppygoblin
patreon.com/puppygoblin
BooTayne
Manhattan, NY
Tres Nadal is a Black cartoonist and character designer based in Manhattan NY. Their work focuses on family, body horror, and generational trauma with bright colors, bold shapes and geometric designs.
www.instagram.com/bootayne
anadal.myportfolio.com
www.x.com/bootayne
burning laurel
New Haven, CT
anarchist stuff from the city to the hills. CT based distro, all zines are free, come by and gab!
Cardboard House Press
Providence
Cardboard House Press is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 2014 and based in Phoenix, Arizona, dedicated to the creation of Spanish-English bilingual spaces through small-press publishing, community workshops, and bilingual events. We publish Latin American and Spanish poetry in translation, with a focus on innovative contemporary poetry, historical avant-garde, and social poetics. Our work acts as a platform for the exchange of ideas, uplifting new meanings that provoke connection and social action.
cardboardhousepress.org/
www.instagram.com/cardboardhousepress/
Carmen Pizarro
Brooklyn, NY
Carmen Pizarro is a Latine illustrator and comics creator based in New York City. Their work consists of self-published comics and zines along with prints, stickers and shirts. The work she creates focuses on relationships, tough babes, bold color palettes with a splash of cult classic movies and fashion references. When they’re not working on their own projects you can find her at local zine and art festivals.
www.carmenpizarro.com
www.instagram.com/bizarropizarro/
twitter.com/bizarropizarro_
Childish Books
Pawtucket, RI
Childish Books (Cb) hopes to celebrate, create, and collect artist books and zine projects which could be enjoyed by a 'child audience', however defined. We care about making zine culture more available to children, and making the art and ideas of children more available in zine culture. Through interviews, reviews, publishing, and gatherings, we hope to generate a deeply playful readership and community. Follow us on social media at @childish.books
croyland
Providence, RI
Rachel Hughes is a Bajan American writer, visual artist, and stage performer whose work has appeared in FringePVD, Hera Gallery, The Vernal Arts & Music Festival, The Wilbury Theatre Group, and more. She has been published in The Bookwoman, The City & The Sea Anthology, Directed Dreaming, Soar For Harriet, Q/A Poetry Journal, and Wizards in Space Literary Magazine.
Dinner Bell
Providence
Dinner Bell is a multimedia project about food and eating. We use the term food loosely because we acknowledge that stories about food are perhaps not about food at all. We publish pieces of writing and art across genres and forms that exist outside of the traditional food media landscape and strive to publish work from an expansive range of contributors.
dreams gourmet II
Providence, RI
dreams gourmet II is a brand revived from 2016 by Susanna Kim Koetter. dg II offers unique functional ceramic ware and limited edition printed matter made by Susanna, and sometimes their friends. Susanna Kim Koetter is an artist and educator based in Providence, RI, and works in mediums of painting, printmaking, fibers, and ceramics.
Emma Cornwell
Northampton, MA
Emma Cornwell is a disabled hard femme lesbian who uses a wheelchair full time. Her zines and art draw on these experiences of the world. Like pretty much everything in Emma's life, her works are all collaborations with her communities and chosen family. Originally from San Francisco, Emma has lived in Northampton, MA for 14 years and been making art for the last five.
Exyl
Providence, RI
Exyl is an animator and filmmaker living and working at the Dirt Palace in Providence, RI. He loves cheap art, moving things around and hanging out.
Filipa Estrela
Providence, RI
Filipa Estrela is a queer mixed bpoc cartoonist, crafter & clown working in the Providence area as a member of the Queer Archive Work & Binch Press studio. Their creative practice is all about play and blending the everyday with a dose of wonder to tell stories that encourage connection and self-acceptance.
Gabriel Joy Reid
Boston, MA
Gabriel Joy Reid (they/she/he) is a writer, filmmaker, animator, and illustrator originally from Kansas City, Kansas. They are currently pursuing their M.F.A. at Boston University in Visual Narrative, which is just a super fancy way to say: they make comics! From superheroes to social justice, sci-fi to slice-of-life, they strive to bring joy, knowledge, and hope to anyone who reads their work and help diverse and underrepresented voices take up space. You can find more of their work at www.gabrielcreatesart.com.
Giuseppe
Providence, RI
WHAPOW! Giuseppe (he/they) is a queerceptional, transfabulous multidisciplinary artist from the sloppy shores of the Wack. He plays in a sandbox of data, patterns, bookbinding, journaling, typography, sculpture, metalworking, beading, embroidery, and whatever else he can get his hands on. He carries a magnifying glass; He will tie a thousand knots; He enjoys romantic walks alone in the fog. He works as an arts educator and integrator and instigator.
Harry Cassell
Providence
Harry Cassell is a queer, nonbinary craftsperson based in Providence, Rhode Island and a current resident at The Steel Yard. She is a multimedia artist who has worked in metal, wood, ceramics, and most recently, painting and printmaking. Her work revolves around material culture and languages, primarily how a craftsperson’s experience with one material affects their treatment of other materials
Having been introduced to printmaking in 2022, Harry is currently expanding her work into the two dimensional realm and is enjoying transferring the logic of fabrication and structure to two dimensional designs.
headmaster
Providence, RI
Headmaster, the art magazine for man-lovers, was founded in Providence in 2010. Each issue features original projects created in response to assignments written by the magazine's editors. Headmaster No.10 was released in Spring 2024.
Hew Jewelry
Durham, NC
Nanette is a queer, Jamaican-American Capricorn and metalsmith from south Florida. She went on to study in Quito, Boston, and Florence. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2015 with her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Nanette has been exploring her practice within her brand, Hew Jewelry. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina, and spends summers teaching in New England.
Honeyteaboy
Orange, CT
Honeyteaboy is a New England-based artist making zines and illustrations surrounding nature and queer life.
Jaeyon and Betty's House of Fun
Providence, RI
Jaeyon Jo is trying to make sense. 'Making sense' in Korean translates to 'becoming speech.' They are wandering in the gap between sense and speech.
Betty is a multidisciplinary artist/maker based in PVD. They work primarily in wood and audio production and try to keep it as chill as possible.
John-Francis Quiñonez
Providence, RI
John-Francis Quiñonez is a Queer Writer, Artist, & Maker of Ice Creams ~ a Desert Flower currently living in Providence, RI (and thinking a lot about emerging)
Jules Kang Sharpe
Providence, RI
Jules Kang Sharpe is a cartoonist and printmaker based in Providence, RI. They make artist books, silkscreen prints, and risograph zines.
Jules Zuckerberg
Providence, RI
Jules Zuckerberg (they/them or he/him) is an interdisciplinary illustrator, zine & printmaker, cartoonist, and amateur mycologist. They are an organizing studio member at Binch x Queer.Archive.Work, a cooperative print studio in Providence, RI. He grew up immersed in the wooded biome of the Hudson Valley where his love for observing and drawing from the natural world was born. As they've grown and come into their own as a queer adult, their art practice has evolved alongside, inherently embodying their life and identity as a transmasc nature weirdo. If you hang out long enough, Jules will probably draw you a fursona.
www.juleszuckerberg.com/
justrightzines.com/
instagram.com/juleszuckerberg
Kah Yangni
Philadelphia, PA
Kah Yangni is an illustrator living in Philadelphia who used to live in Providence. They make hyper vibrant art about justice, queerness, and joy- using cut up paper, drawings, paint, and Photoshop to show a world where we are free. Kah’s art can be found on billboards, one 2,250 square foot mural, and on bedroom walls from Rhode Island to Iceland. Kah illustrated “Not He or She, I’m Me” by A.M. Wild, a 2024 Stonewall Book Award Honor Book, and “The Making of Butterflies” by Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi.
Karen Czap
Providence, RI
Karen Czap is an Ignatz Award-nominated cartoonist, author of Fütchi Perf and Four Years. Their coloring work can be found in The Breakaways, Freestyle, BUNT!, and more. Czap lives and works in Providence, RI as a member of the Binch Press / Queer Archive Works studio co-op.
Katelyn Lipton
Cambridge, MA (planning to move to Providence, RI in Sept!)
Katelyn Lipton (she/they) is a diasporic Korean American artist raised in the Hudson Valley now based in the Boston area. Katelyn is a printmaker, painter, sculptor, and illustrator, and her practice is inspired by the reclamation of Korean folklore and traditional craft. They have a deep appreciation for the natural world, and their background in environmental sciences, climate justice, and regenerative farming fuels their work. Community is at the heart of her artmaking, and collaborating with other Asian diaspora artists and farmers is woven into her practice.
www.instagram.com/katelyn.leeann.art/
www.katelynleeannart.com/
Kiki Shu and Molly Young
Providence, RI
Kiki Shu and Molly Young are a married artist couple who make illustrations, zines, and more both collaboratively and independently. They live in East Providence with their two cats!
www.instagram.com/shuuinn
www.instagram.com/beckishu
www.instagram.com/molly.kate.young
www.beckishu.com
KyKy Archives / Siddisse Negero
Philadelphia, PA
Siddisse is a first generation Ethiopian-American creative researcher, visual designer, writer, archivist, and co-founder of KyKy Archives, a creative digital archival project dedicated to documenting the histories of Black Lesbian, Queer, GNC, and Trans people. Their work is focused on creating a vast web of interconnection between and within the stories of black people globally, and their multiple expressions of gender and sexuality through storytelling, artistic practice, and creative preservation methods. Siddisse was born and raised in the D.C. metro area, and is currently based in Philadelphia, PA.
L. Alexxii
Providence
L. Alexxi is an artist, content creator, and most importantly a writer. A lover of anime, manga, comics, and music, he draws on all these loves to create engaging content and write works of fantasy and fiction. His biggest ambition is creating a multimedium franchise starting with his first book/book series, Red. Along with those big dreams, he also streams occasionally on twitch and will be starting a podcast soon.
linktr.ee/blackwizardclub
www.pillowfort.social/blackwizardclub
Late Night Copies Press
Minneapolis, MN
Late Night Copies Press is a queer and trans run micro press based in Minneapolis, MN. We publish zines about queer history, artist organizing, and informal research based writing.
Liuxing Johnston
Adams, MA
Liuxing Johnston is a butch lesbian cartoonist who portrays the everyday lives of butch lesbians of color through their comics and graphic novels. They create visual narratives that explore the topics of grief, transracial adoption, and East Asian lesbian identity. You can find their work at liuxingjohnston.com or on Instagram @liuxingjohnston.
Many Folds Press
Philadelphia, PA
Many Folds Press is a Philadelphia-based risograph studio, and an extension of FORTUNE, a three-person print collective assembled by/for queer and trans Asians. We work to provide accessible and responsive print services, to make room for more queer BIPOC stories, and to celebrate our own — in material forms, in multiples. Our catalog broadly includes resource guides and functional objects, distributed through alternative, slow, or intentional ways.
Mara Gervais
Davis, CA
Mara Gervais is amskapi pikuni & fil-am, queer, gender-fluid non-binary, and from Davis, California. They make zines, stickers, and prints - all their work is homemade. They're obsessed with reading comics, skateboarding, and eating spaghetti!
Nebulotic
Warwick, RI
Araya is a Thai-American illustrator based in Rhode Island. She does her best to capture fleeting moments of everyday existence, whether that be through her own fantastical or humorous lenses. She will be selling riso prints, zines, stickers, and original ceramic works.
www.instagram.com/nebulotic_/
twitter.com/nebulotic/
nebulotic.carrd.co/
noino
Philadelphia, PA
noino is an artist living in Philadelphia, making illustrations, ceramics, and tattoos.
Noka Palm Trees
Montreal, QC
Noka Palm Trees work is rooted in all that is vivid, fun and immersive. Taking inspiration from their Jamaican background and imaginative daydreams, their drawn to geometric compositions and the exploration of merging nostalgia and socio-political issues with futuristic surreal imagery.
www.instagram.com/currygoatfables
www.nokapalmtrees.com
www.tiktok.com/@nokapalmtrees?lang=en
Ø.K. Fox
Queens, NY
Ø.K. FOX is a barista, nightlife producer, curator, printmaker, artworker, and overthinker based in Queens, NY. He co-hosts a weekly podcast called ART AND LABOR, which discusses current and historical political struggles. His personal practice includes a drag persona called Sexual Gumby, and experiments with the distortion of identity through fandom and mass media.
Olivia Fields
Brooklyn, NY
Olivia Fields is an African-American illustrator + printmaker based in Brooklyn, NY specializing in editorial + product design, screenprinting her own apparel and risograph artwork. Her drawings are delicate, playing with shapes and forms that intersect and entangle one another tenderly. She has self published and printed a variety of zines and merchandise, with common subjects including autobio, fashion, and transcendence.
Ollantay Avila Alcocer
Dallas, Texas
Ollantay Avila Alcocer is a Mexican-American designer from Dallas, Texas and recent RISD Alumni. Their favorite RISO color combination is cornflower and fluorescent pink.
pixlotl
Brooklyn NY
Geov is a transgender illustrator and comic artist based in Brooklyn NY. Using clay, ink, and esoteric digital programs, they craft strange worlds full of anthropomorphic friends ☆
Pleasure Pie
Boston, MA
Pleasure Pie is a small Boston-based sexual justice organization that makes zines about shame-free sexuality and consent. Their zines take a down-to-earth approach to sex education that speaks to people's real life sex questions, while celebrating sexual and gender diversity. They also make art prints that put a playful spin on sex- and body-positivity. You can see their zines and art at @pleasurepie on Instagram or pleasurepie.org.
instagram.com/pleasurepie
www.pleasurepie.org/
pleasurepie.etsy.com/
twitter.com/pleasurepie
QQ Cuts
Providence, RI
QQ Cuts facilitates slow, imaginative, and playful relationships to hair for queer and trans neighbors. The project is run by artist Eden Tai, whose interest in queer portraiture informs her work across several mediums.
Rockfoxset
Providence, RI
HELLOOO ^^ My name is Jay and i am an 18 year old queer black artist who loves to draw fictional as well as original characters!! i aspire to make key chains, stickers, and at some point come out with my own comic series :)
Sam Nehila
Providence, RI
Sam Nehila is a Providence, RI based printmaker, curator and educator. He considers himself Providence's #1 stone lithography enthusiast. Through prints and zines, his work explores transmasculinity and the ups and downs of having a body.
santi(ago alvarado)
Norwalk, CT + Providence, RI
santi(ago alvarado, with a legacy of ramirez+cacsire+charatona+aldave), grew up queer and trans in Norwalk, CT, and ayllu is from Cotahuasi, AQP, Peru. Currently residing on Narragansett Land, santi (he+she+they) is first-gen, latine-quechua, interdisciplinary artist/designer who loves stories that involve god as change, time loops, repetition, prophecy, and horror. They are a supporting community organizer working towards liberation, a part-time tattoo artist, and enthusiastic plant guy; He hopes to continually practice appreciating and celebrating life, by listening and loving as deeply as he can.
Sara Inácio
Providence, RI
Sara Inácio is a Brazilian printmaker based in Providence, RI. Having spent most of their life in New England, they received a BFA in Printmaking with a minor in Public Engagement from Maine College of Art in 2017, and their MFA in Printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design. Relying on multi-species investigations of urban wildlife (primarily), their homemaking and passing, Sara’s work draws connections between our complex coexistence, to the ever changing experience of queerness; a parallel resilient and precarious survival.
seosamh
Franklin, MA
seosamh "joe" is a butch painter, hypertext enthusiast, and comic author focused on exploring dark grimy intimacy in trans otherworlds. he co-authors the ongoing sci-fi comic SUPERPOSE with his partner Anka.
198x.love
instagram.com/saint_vagrant
twitter.com/saint_vagrant
Shaine C
Providence, RI
Hello! My name is Shaine also known as rvsty.cl0wn on insta! I love making art of my original characters and many lgbtq represented and poc art pieces!
www.instagram.com/rvsty.cl0wn?igsh=mxr0z2xsawq2cni1aa%3d%3d&utm_source=qr
Sissy Rosso
Providence, RI
Sissy Rossó is a mixed media artist born in Bronx, NY and raised in Providence, RI. Most of Sissy's work is an exploration of identity, woven together by the threads of her cultural heritage, family history, and the vibrant communities that shape her experiences. Her creative interests take on an interdisciplinary approach encompassing printmaking, textiles, collage, and painting. Her work invites viewers to reimagine their own narratives and envision a future unburdened by the constraints of the familiar.
Small Format
Providence, RI
Small Format is a worker owned “3rd space” for queer creative communities to gather, ever-evolving to meet our needs and the needs of those around us. We are a cafe, art gallery, and event space. We provide joy to those around us with handmade cocktails, food, and coffee.
Sunni Stewart
Brooklyn, NY
Lover of coming of age stories and acolyte of bright colors Sunni Stewart strives to create stories that focuses on members of the African diaspora.
www.instagram.com/sunnisideup__?igsh=mwj0bjjymm5obgrm&utm_source=qr
Teen Volunteers of the PGN Library
Old Lyme, CT
Hi! Can you just share whatever it was we submitted on the application? I don't have a receipt of that info, but will check in!
The Wrong Press
Providence, RI
Get it right with The Wrong Press! Kimberly (she/her) and Emely (she/they) are a Providence-based queer artist duo making zines on horror, kink, philosophy, trans poetics, film, comics, & more!! Please look forward to the dykeish delights they have to show you🖤
TheirArt
Boston, MA
Hi, I'm Ollie (they/them), a twenty-three year old neurodivergent, genderqueer, Filipino person originally from North Carolina. I moved to Boston in May 2024 and run my small business, "TheirArt". I crochet and create designs drawn digitally or on paper for buttons and stickers. The majority of my work is in some way catered toward the LGBTQ+ community, whether it be literal (pride flags), figurative (fruits, frogs, mushrooms, etc), or somewhere in-between.
theirartllc.bigcartel.com/
ko-fi.com/theirart_
www.instagram.com/theirart_/
www.tiktok.com/@theirart_
Tofu Twink
Providence
Marius Keo Marjolin aka Tofu Twink is a Khmerican illustrator, graphic designer and printmaker based in Boston. Through screen prints and illustrations, Marius cultivates a Khmer futurist fantasy world inspired by Cambodian motifs, speculative genre fiction and comic books, as well as autobiographical zines.
tommi parrish
Greenfield
Tommi Parrish is a trans cartoonist living in so-called western Massachusetts. Fantagraphics has released two of their books, and tommi is currently working on a third.
Trinket 4 Trinket (T4T)
Providence, RI
Xander and Felicita are two Trans, Black + Puerto Rican interdisciplinary artists, their work is fun, playful, shapeshift-y, and a bit magical. They are interested in exploring the whimsy of other realms in their work. They both make textiles, apparel, prints, books, and other handmade/digital objects.
Xani’s Designs
Providence, RI
Hey there Y’all! My name is Nani! I’m a black queer, trans artist who makes stickers and designs for the Queer, BIPOC and alternative communities!
Thank You for Your Support!
QTZ 2024 was organized in partnership with Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work. If you would like to make a donation to support programming like QTZ, visit the Queer.Archive.Work website.
QTZ is made possible by generous funding and donations from the Rhode Island Humanities, the Trans Justice Funding Project, the Rhode Island Foundation, Providence Arts Culture Tourism, the Providence Tourism Council, and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
Lastly, thank you to all of the incredible volunteers who make QTZ possible year after year!
Organizing Team
Asaad Miller is occasionally a designer, but their day job is at The Steel Yard as Communications Manager. Asaad dabbles in wheel-based ceramics, cleaning electronics with old toothbrushes, and knowing what day it is. If they’re not wearing their glasses, they probably won’t see you.
Christopher J. Lee is a postdoctoral fellow at UC Merced, where they are developing a book manuscript on the trans/queer of color aesthetic strategies that transform the politics of damage beyond carceral/catastrophic reprisal.Their writing is published in the New Inquiry, the Baffler TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, and QED: A Journal of GLBTQ Worldmaking.
CJ is a parent and educator born and based in Providence RI. Their artwork uses mail art, ‘eco-packages’ and Santeria aesthetic to explore grief, religious trauma and family legacy. They work full time at The Steel Yard, believe in pedestrian dignity and would really prefer if you wore a mask.
Dana Heng is an interdisciplinary visual artist and educator based in Providence, RI. She is an artist mentor at New Urban Arts and a co-founder of Binch Press. She is currently working on projects related to food culture and memory.
MJ Sanqui is a Filipino artist and writer from Western North Carolina, currently living in Providence, RI. Their practice fluidly appropriates print, paper, photography, text, and the book form to explore the interactions of personal and collective histories, ruderal ecologies, and remediated archives. They are a former resident and current member of the Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work studio.
Moy Chuong is a Teochew American artist and educator whose work explores objects as containers for identity, grief, and care. As a child of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, the act of making heals their relationship to their cultural identity, once estranged by displacement and trauma.
Tycho Horan is a printmaker, designer, educator, poet and arts organizer based in Providence, RI. She is the Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work Studio Director. Before that she was the AS220 Printshop Manager. She has organized QTZ since 2017 and organized the Rhode Island Independent Publishing Expo (RIPE) before that. She also teaches at RISD’s Department of Graphic Design.
Zaidee Everett is a printmaker and librarian from Providence, RI. Their prints and tiny artist books navigate themes of grief and connection through imagery of creatures, food, and plant life. Their work as a librarian is youth-centered and prioritizes information equity and critical librarianship.
Zooey Kim Conner is a mixed-Korean queer + trans multidisciplinary artist from Providence, RI, whose work explores what it means to build home and belonging from a marginalized identity. They work at The Steel Yard, organize and print at the Binch Press/Queer.Archive.Work print studio, and take a lot of naps with their dog.
It's the Last Year
We’ve been organizing this fest since 2017, which started as a program of AS220’s Queer Arts Fest, and before that, several members of our team organized the Rhode Island Publishing Expo. We’ve hosted hundreds of queer and trans exhibitors and thousands of attendees, and we’re proud to have been a fest that has always been completely free for our tablers. While planning this year’s fest, we realized that many of us are ready to move on to other projects, including making our own zines (like a zine on fest organizing).
Though this is our last QTZ, we’re excited to make it the best iteration yet. Thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm over the years, and we hope you’ll consider attending or applying for QTZ 2024!
FAQ and Accessibility
What is QTZ?
The Queer/Trans Zine Fest (QTZ) is a free 1-day zine fair held on unceded Narragansett land (Providence, RI) organized by and for queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people. Our definition of “zine” is deliberately broad and we invite all creative people with radical ideas to apply. In the past, our exhibitors have included poets, comic artists, community organizations, and activist collectives, as well as makers of ceramics, apparel, herbal medicines, and textiles.
When and where is QTZ 2024 taking place?
QTZ 2024 will take place outdoors at The Steel Yard on Saturday, August 31, 2024 from 11am–5pm. There will be additional programming throughout that weekend at the Binch Press / Queer.Archive.Work Studio.
Is QTZ free?
Yes! QTZ is free to attendees and exhibitors. There is no tabling fee and exhibitors will be offered a small stipend on a sliding scale.
How does the QTZ application process work?
Once applications close on Monday May 27th, 2024 at 11:59pm, they will be reviewed by the QTZ fest organizers using a rubric that prioritizes Providence-based Black, Indigenous, people of color.
Is this event wheelchair-accessible?
Yes! The Steel Yard hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including Queer/Trans Zinefest. All Steel Yard events are 100% wheelchair accessible. Event attendees have access to both a fully ADA accessible portable restroom as well as custom wheelchair-accessible picnic tables.
The Steel Yard’s outdoor area is paved, with a combination of bricks and permeable concrete. It is mostly flat and even, with a slight slope in some areas. The main entry to the Fest location is connected to the sidewalk with a slight upward slope.
Do you have a way for attendees/exhibitors to cool off?
All exhibitor tables will be under tents, but the Steel Yard is in an industrial area and can get hot! There will be an air-conditioned cooling area indoors with water available. There is a metal ADA-compliant ramp leading into the cooling station. There will be another air conditioned indoor cooling station at Binch Press/Queer.Archive.Work, down the block and across the street. Masks are required in indoor areas, including both cooling stations.
What kind of bathrooms are on on-site?
There is an accessible outdoor port-a-potty available. If you need an indoor restroom for accessibility reasons, please ask a Fest organizer.
What are your COVID policies?
We are holding this event outside and will have a designated organizer to hand out masks. We ask that you consider wearing masks even though this is an outside event. If you are interacting with an exhibitor or organizer wearing a mask, it would be kind to reciprocate by putting on a mask as well. We will have both surgical masks and K95 masks (upon request) for exhibitors, volunteers, and attendees. If you have cold or flu-like symptoms, we ask that you not attend the event. We will have a limited supply of rapid tests available for exhibitors and volunteers at our reading and the zinefest itself.
Will there be food or beverages?
We are not selling food, but there are a variety of options nearby, including Subway, Dunkin Donuts, and Vasilios Pizza right around the corner. If you’re looking for a cafe, New Harvest Coffee is just across the street.
Can I report an issue to an organizer?
Yes, we will have organizers and volunteers at the welcome table to address any issues around accessibility or oppressive behavior. Refer to our Statement of Collective Responsibility.
Will there be a medic on-site?
Yes, we will have a medic tent stationed with water and light snacks.
Will there be shade structures or sun protection?
Yes, in addition to tents for exhibitors, there will be tents and sun sails throughout the space.
Are dogs allowed at this event?
Service animals and well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome on site, but please be aware of everyone’s comfort level.
How can I get to this event?
Get off at the RIPTA bus stop on Atwells Avenue before Harris Avenue. Take Harris Ave one block and then turn left onto Sims Avenue. The Steel Yard’s main barrier free entrance is located on Sims Ave.
There is also street parking on Sims Ave, if arriving by car.
What is the tabling set-up provided for exhibitors?
Half tables: 2.5 ft. x 3 ft.
Full tables: 2.5 ft. x 6 ft.
1 to 2 chairs with padded backs per exhibitor.
All tables are located under a tent.
Collective Responsibility Statement
As participants and attendees of Providence Queer/Trans Zinefest, we ask that you hold yourselves and each other responsible for your conduct and look out for each other at this fest. As an open-access and public event, we cannot guarantee a space free of sexism, racism, homophobia. However, we ask that you to keep in mind the principle of mutual and collective responsibility.
As zinefest organizers, we will be available in advance and on the day of the event to address any issues that come up. We commit to dealing with these issues in a calm and open-minded way, and we ask you to do the same.
The zinefest is an opportunity for meeting each other and learning, not for pursuing ongoing conflicts. If an individual is known to have engaged in oppressive behavior, then it is up to people who know them to put accountability processes in place. If that has not been done, the zinefest is not the time or place to do so. Organizers and participants cannot and will not act as judge, jury, or police force. However, we will do our best to deal with situations that arise at the zinefest. We reserve the right to ask anybody acting in what we consider to be an inappropriate manner to leave the event.
If you need assistance during the zinefest, please come to the welcome table at the entrance to the vendor area.
In compliance with the our agreement with the venue, and for participants’ health and safety, the following must be observed:
- Smoking anything is permitted only in designated smoking areas
- No alcohol may be consumed on the premises