The making of zines’ was a project undertaken for my Masters in Therapeutic Arts Practice in 2017 at a school in northern Tasmania. Students from grade five and six were asked, ‘what is it like growing up in George Town’? as a starting point for making their zines.
This question allowed the children the scope to voice their concerns and tell their stories in their own unique way.
Some were written and illustrated by hand, while others were computer generated. The topics the children discussed in their zines were often confronting and challenging. Their zines were then collated into one long book that became the artefact I left with the school.
Initially I had difficulty explaining to staff at the school the MIECAT form of inquiry and the terms we use, so I made a zine outlining this in simple language. This zine became the foundation for my placement at the school.
To honour the precious lives of the children I worked with and what I came to know from this rich experience, I chose to present my final report as a book tying in with the overall theme of the project.
