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Stillness Lab
Blue nature projections of clouds and water with green cushions and zines laid on the floor
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Stillness Lab: A Zine Library Collaboration

Over the span of three weeks, the Barnard Zine Library (BZL) and the Movement Lab collaborated on a series of specific Stillness Labs that highlight the intersection of technology, movement/stillness, and nature within zines in the BZL collection.

November 16, 2022

Over the span of three weeks, the Barnard Zine Library (BZL) and the Movement Lab collaborated on a series of specific Stillness Labs that highlight the intersection of technology, movement/stillness, and nature within zines in the BZL collection. The Stillness Lab is open every week on Wednesdays from 11:45am-12:45pm with the mission of allowing people to take a minute (or hour) to breathe.

Every week, the theme focused on a different pillar of the Movement Lab's mission. Zine assistant, Grace Li (BC'24), curated specific zines from the circulating collection to pair with immersive projections and nature based white noise. The list of zines that were available during each session are listed below. 

Nature

Circadian Rhythms

Zines D867c 2016

UK-based zine maker Karolina Dworska writes about feeling disconnected, learning life lessons, and feeling close to the world around her. There are ink illustrations in black and white with blue watercolor paint. The text is typewritten and there is a definition of "circadian rhythm." Dworska also includes a checklist for "a healthy mind and a happy life with nature."

Available to Checkout Here

Root no. 6

Zines E82r no.6 2010

Issue 6 of Root, a handwritten cut and paste perzine with illustrations, color photographs, maps and vintage clip art; documents Sarah's summer biking trips throughout Nova Scotia. She describes her love of bicycle touring, nature, and the planning that is involved with the Brevet Bicycling Club's outings.

Available to Checkout Here

ANOTHER no. 4: NH, USA

Zines L547a no.4

In this mini zine, Grace Li explores the natural world surrounding their New Hampshire home in the summertime. Shot on 35mm color film, they document scenes from their hikes, the view from their window, and neighborhood walks.

Available to Checkout Here

In these shells

Zines G473i 2012

In These Shells is an art zine that features color photography of nature and human bodies alongside text about living fully, creativity, and resistance to a hostile world. The author also hosts the website http://endlessinside.com.

Available to Checkout Here

Minutiae, No. 2. Wandering sweet pea

Zines K553m no.2 2009

After moving from Portland, Oregon, to Richmond, Virginia, Aijung presents ink illustrations and stories about her new home including gardening, a blackout, and facts about hummingbirds.

Available to Checkout Here

My Classics Will Be Queer in Nature

Zines W36454m 2021

Available to Checkout Here

Autumn poem

Zines K553a 2009

This is a little illustrated poem about autumn in a very small zine.

Available to Checkout Here

Movement and Technology

Melt the Snow

Zines V43m

This typewritten perzine is written out of Toronto, and addresses issues of shyness, friendship, change, zine making, writing, nostalgia, and growing up. Issue eleven is mostly prose and short stories and focuses on family topics like only child Teri's Greek identity and lack of connection with her Filipino side, while other issues contain more artwork and collage. Zine and book reviews are also included, as well as handwritten notes and information about how to get in touch with Teri online. 

Available to Checkout Here

Low hug #10 : Technology!

Zines M685h no.10 2004

Essays in this technology-focused compilation zine are about Atari, using early computers, trying out internet dating, getting cable TV for the first time and being skeptical of TiVo. This desktop published zine also contains clip art, comics, reviews of zines, books, films and comics, and an index. Contributors include fellow zine publishers Davida Gypsy Breier, Delaine Derry Green, Malinda, Sean Stewart and others.

Available to Check Out Here

Mediating the Body : Wearable Tech and Disembodied Reality

Zines R535m 2016z

Available to Check Out Here

Unsubscribe : Mind and Body

Zines B43573u no.1 2021

Published by students with the Barnard Athena Center, Unsuscribe intends to "start a community, movement + practice that revolves around the need to decompress from digital life." The authors share a dance composition video and Spotify playlists via QR code alongside poems, illustrations, a crossword and word search all reflecting on phone addiction and practicing mindfulness in the midst of a pandemic. –Grace Li

Available to Check Out Here

Alex

Zines H397a

This typewritten, cut and paste compilation zine by Alex Hays explores gender identity, androgyny, sexuality, and defining self. In issue one contributors share about gender identity and gynecology, growing up with gender-conscious parents, the path to understanding personal gender presentation, and defining and claiming feminism. Issue three is written exclusively by Alex who opens up the dialogue to include topics outside of gender. She discusses family, drinking, coming out to her family the summer after her first year at a women's college, and memories of her sophomore year in college. 

Available to Check Out Here

Feminist hackerspaces : hacking culture not devices

Zines B8745h 2015z

This informational zine explores the practices and philosophies of feminist hackerspaces, which are collectively run workspaces that combine technology work and feminist activism for the collaborative empowerment of women in tech fields. The zine details membership and access policies, codes of conducts, commonly found supplies, and events held at hackerspaces. There is also discussion of intersectional feminism and the racial politics of hackerspaces. The zine is digitally formatted and contains illustrations by Emily Alden Foster.

Available to Check Out Here

Are You Afraid of the Smart Fridge

Zines R535f 2018z

 

Available to Check Out Here

Exploration and Reflection

Quaranzine no. 11 : Finding the Surreal in the Mundane :

Zines D385476q no.11 2020

Jamie Lewis shares the surreal yet mundane tasks she completed during her quarantine and a checklist specifically for Saturday mornings.

Available to Checkout

Nothing rhymes

Zines G86n no. 5

Filled with nature drawings colored in, this typewritten zine by Chelsea Gunn explores her past and present as a tattooed college student contemplating library school. Gunn enjoys crafting and reading, and writes about her own experience with alcohol as juxtaposed with the memoir Smashed: Memories of a Drunken Girlhood. Issue number five focuses on the death of her beloved cat, Bearadactyl, and changing her schedule to begin waking up early every morning. The zine is quarter sized and also cut and paste with vintage photographs. It has a vellum cover and blue string stab binding.

Available to Checkout

In between

Zines B47i

Keight Bergmann matches ethereal and slightly esoteric thoughts with intricate graphics in this montage zine. Bergmann writes on various broad subjects, such as "home" and "idealism," and includes her photography and linoleum prints. The zine concludes with a story about riding a Boston T train.

Available to Checkout

Meandering Soul

Zines T544m
This "24-hour perzine" by Caroline Tigeress talks about sexual abuse in her childhood, signing a book contract, and masturbation. It also contains haiku and photographs and captioned illustrations containing cats, dogs, and friends of the author. The author hosts a blog at http://themeanderingsoul.blogspot.com.

Available to Checkout

Black women & self care : thoughts on mental health, oppression & healing

Zines M694b 2015

Naomi Moyer dedicates this zine to people who struggle with mental health, and writes about destigmatizing mental illness among black women. She discusses coping mechanisms and different aspects of living with anger, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder while existing in an Anti-black, homophobic society. There is a section devoted to navigating life in a white supremacist world, including interactions with racists and daily affirmations, as well as do-it-yourself recipes for tonics and potions. The binding is pamphlet stitched.

Available to Checkout

Caring for Your Community of Practice Collective Responses to Burnout

Zines B76963c 2019

Tuft librarians Dianne and L. prompt readers with questions and actionable steps regarding burn out in the workplace. Presenting at a library conference in 2019, the authors hope readers and participants will learn definitions, find additional resources, and increase workplace emotional awareness. -Mikako

Available to Checkout
Photo of zine assistant grace on a hill overlooking the hudson river

A Note from the Curator:

This process of searching through the Zine Library circulating catalog and working with the Movement Lab to bring this experience to life has been extremely rewarding. My main goal for this experience was to bring zines outside of the Zine Library on the 2nd floor of Milstein and into a new environment  for people to engage with the materials. The Movement Lab offered a new space that incorporated immersive projection and sound to complement the themes explored in the zines. I'm extremely grateful for everyone who attended the event and hope that these collection of zines can help anyone looking for a moment to sit in stillness.