“Every time I’m at a zine fest or an art book fair, it kind of feels like being in a protest,” Samuel Signer said. “Almost like a religious experience.”
Standing behind his exhibition table, Signer gestured toward the vast array of art he brought to exhibit at last Saturday’s “Over Here Claremont Zine Fest” — photojournalism prints, a zine made of transparent paper that folds into a pyramid and even a mini meme collection of texts and social media posts about Dubai chocolate.
Signer, one of over 40 independent exhibitors, described the zine fest as an opportunity for local artists to express themselves freely amid shifting political climates.
Co-hosted by Pomona College’s Benton Museum of Art and Curious Publishing, the annual zine fest took place on Saturday, Nov. 1, in the Benton courtyard. As attendees trickled into the courtyard, they stopped to pick up coffee from the Marigold Coffee Collective, a local catering coffee stand offering drink combinations that were almost as creative as the art showcased.
From zines — both hand-drawn and printed — to small crafts like stickers and pins, the event celebrated a diverse range of artistic styles, including abstract impressionist images and black-and-white street photography.
“This [is a] community-centered event that gives a platform for a lot of these creatives in the Inland Empire, and these individuals are self-publishing,” Justine Bae Bias, the assistant director for engagement at the Benton, said. “We do this because we are building a community, not just with patrons who are coming to see our exhibitions and participate, but we’re also creating a community with creatives and artists in our local area.”
Attendee Sage Santomenna PO ’26 reaffirmed Bias’ sentiments and expressed his appreciation for access to events like the zine fest as a college student.
“I think that one of the benefits of being at Claremont, regardless of what you study, is that there’s this incredible set of opportunities that kind of present themselves to engage in art, to engage with local creatives, that happens to be very convenient for you by virtue of going to the colleges,” Santomenna said.
Curious Publishing has worked with the Benton and the 5Cs for several years to bring together independent artists and creatives through zine fests, artist talks and various other events. As a 100 percent artist-owned nonprofit organization, editor-in-chief Rebecca Ustrell and her team aim to celebrate the rich diaspora of the Inland Empire, womxn, BIPOC and queer artists.
Ustrell and her husband Signer — who, in addition to exhibiting, also works as a production assistant at Curious Publishing — spoke to the tangible impact of giving marginalized people a public platform to explore their artistic expression.
“I think it’s really powerful just to show how many people are using art to just speak their own voice, speak their own truth, give power to narratives that are otherwise very much marginalized by more traditional formats and institutions,” Signer said.
Another exhibitor at the event, Mia Bruce, reiterated Signer’s beliefs that zine fests offer a creative outlet amid political turmoil. On her website, she describes her art as a means of capturing moments and emotions without censorship.
Attendees were drawn to her colorfully abstract art that blended lines and figures in a non-traditional way. Bruce displayed several of her printed books filled with surreal, chaotic art, including her newest collection, “Waiting for Eternity’s Light to Shine on my Face.”
Bruce, like the majority of exhibitors, hails from the Inland Empire. This element of locality is reflected in many of the artworks, giving the exhibition an intimate, resonant feeling.
Santomenna, like many attendees, felt moved by the way exhibitor Domenico Foschi’s photographs highlighted the contradictions that come with living in this region.
“I thought [Foschi] had a good eye for Southern California … both as this agricultural hub in the Central Valley and as this arid desert where I would argue we aren’t supposed to be.”
The diversity of the kinds of artwork and artists is what Signer described as one of his favorite aspects of attending and exhibiting at zine fests. Exhibitors included local educators, past art students and veteran artists; This diversity of experience and content gave attendees a wide range of artwork to engage with.
“There’s something for everyone, which is the beautiful part about [zine exhibitions], because there’s stuff that’s surface [level] and then there’s those for people who want to go deep,” Signer said. “That’s the wonderful part about zines. The zine, you can argue, is anything.”