Zines from the Scene*

Zines from the Scene is a pioneer network service for Canopy’s ambassador program.

Micro Zines (mini DIY magazines) can be made from 1 A4 sheet and provide an amazing substrate for diverse expression - from punk DIY vibes to more formal representation. A pop up display can also be easily made and transported.

Zines from the Scene can be used anywhere to increase the visibility of the Scene and the “Surface of Serendipity” acting as social objects that allow for conversations and finding the others more easily, and according to their interests.

QR codes can then link back to the Zine index, increasing visibility of the whole Scene in digital spaces through multiple bridge into the real.

Zines from the Scene is a way of taking back media. Remembering that we don’t have to hide everything behind digital layers. That we can easily escape media silos by taking a step back down the tech stack.

Did you forget that you had a printing press in your house!

We can show and express our work and our ideas in reality. We can make those things social. Printing each others Zines takes more work than a “like”. It’s an act of love in the service of the ideas we want to grow, that remains present in our awareness through its physical presence.

To create your own Zine from the Scene follow the instructions below.

Step 1. Print this template on a4 recycled paper, or click to open link if you want to work digitally (Pro tip - you can print art over pre-used pages on back side - or just print on plain side of used paper, backside will be hidden).

Step 2. Think of something you want to share. It could be your company, but better still is the idea that burns inside it. You can do more than 1. If you want you can put your formal 1 pager for investors on the inside. The key is that this is something personal and alive. Canopy is a living ecosystem. Share what fires burn inside you and your organisation. Let your spirit shine through your expression. For example…

4. Share it with us and help the Scene See Itself.
Share your Zines with us. Scan and email them here - we will try and automate this in the future (contact us to help us automate).

Step 3. Cut Fold and then create your zine. Just start, create a title and let the creativity flow. Host a “Zine sprint” and make with your friends. Hold a Zoom call, where one person speaks, another interviews and another Zines. Take a blog or website and copy paste it into a digital format. Don’t over think it. Do it alone. Do it together. Do it before your planning brain kicks in. Print and fold the Zine below (credit here), if you want to understand the process.

5. Print Out and Share the Zines of others and help the Scene see itself.
Visit the gallery and print out other people Zines that resonate. Fold pieces of Card to create a “Zine Rack”

Try and sell them for non-monetary Value.

Use them as an avenue for exploring/challenge traditional exchange (eg. this cost me 20 minutes to make, what’s that time worth to you? Mine is the same).

Use them to spark conversation, increase the Surface of Serendipity, and find the others.

6. Support this action
This is a prototype at present, but we’d like to explore how we can support more ambassadors to attend events and better represent each other. This can potentially reduce travel costs/attendance fees, whilst maximising the overall exposure of the Canopy.

Perhaps through sponsorship in return for increased visibility, badges for ambassadors, “Zine Rack” Sponsorship or a “Gratitude Zine” that acknowledges resource based support.

Contact us to discuss further.

* What is “the Scene”?
The Scene is emergent and can therefore not easily defined. Loosely described it is anyone who is playing to grow a Fairer Future.

It is those who plant libraries without permission in their communities, companies who grow new materials from plastic wastes and mycellium, those who facilitate people to engage in playful presence and turn stiff bodies into a giggling cuddle puddle on the floor improvising music. The scene is guided by stories of a better future and the Emergent Media Alliance forming to better tell and spread these stories.

The Scene is polycultural, the scene is varied, the scene is a forest of potential. If you are playing to grow any part of a Fairer Future for All, then you are the Scene.