Southwest Florida nonprofit hosts Zine Fest in Fort Myers

Writer: Tim Belizaire
Published: Updated:
Zine Fest
Credit: Tim Belizaire

Love Your Rebellion hosted Zine Fest, an event that supported local artists at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers on Saturday.

Love Your Rebellion is a Southwest Florida nonprofit with the goal of giving opportunities to marginalized communities through artistic endeavors.

Zine Fest was a free event in the Alliance for the Arts greenspace that featured vendors, poetry readings, a live DJ and much more.

Zines are self-made magazines filled with imagery or writing distributed throughout certain communities without a publisher.

Jimmy Dunson is a writer with Rebel Hearts Publishing and one of the vendors at Zine Fest. He had a unique payment system at his station.

“If you were wondering where to spend that monopoly money, we at Rebel Hearts Publishing accept that,” Dunson said. “Any currency that you create, we would probably accept that as well.”

Dunson said that a friend inspired him not to focus on money when selling Zines or other items he carries.

“A poet friend of mine once said, ‘To withhold is to perish,’ and I don’t want to die like that,” Dunson said. “I would rather get in touch with my 5-year-old kindergarten self than have $1 million in the bank.”

Brian Torres, a local photographer, volunteered to help set up Zine Fest. He stressed the importance of having spaces where artists can share their work.

“Without a community to share my art, it feels pointless, so having a space where you can see other people’s art helps with your creative juice,” Torres said.

He said that he appreciates how his community has come together for the event.

“It’s very cool seeing the community come together and have a zine exchange or have people teach you how to make your own zine because the whole point of zines is for you to create something that you want to express about yourself for the community,” Torres said.

Click here for more information on Love Your Rebellion.

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