SMITHSONIAN LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES

Celebrate Punk Zines With the Musicians Who Created Them

Upcoming event will explore women, zines and punk with a panel of creators, curators and librarians

Music HerStory Zine Program 3.png

February 28th, 7 pm ET
Register via Zoom

Zines are celebrations of self-expression. These unique documents often combine first-person narratives and frank opinion pieces with interviews, reviews, and musings on art, music, and culture. Popular today, zine use was propelled by the riot grrrl movement in the early 1990s. They connected like-minded readers and musicians through writing about women’s issues, perspectives, and experiences. Zines continue to promote community-building and creativity, especially among young women.

In this virtual panel discussion, we’ll explore the history of zines as a grassroots medium, the impact of the riot grrl movement on modern zine creators, and the role libraries and archives play in preserving this material.

Featuring:

  • Allison Wolfe, co-creator of Girl Germs, Bratmobile, and Riot Grrrl
  • Molly Neuman, co-creator of Girl Germs, Bratmobile, and Riot Grrrl
  • Osa Atoe, creator of Shotgun Seamstress
  • Michele Casto, librarian, People’s Archive, DC Public Library

Moderated by Meredith Holmgren, curator of Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change

Library display case with several zines
Girl Germs and Riot Grrl zines, on display in Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change. Carolyn Thome, Smithsonian Exhibitions

This program is part of the exhibition Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change, organized by Smithsonian Libraries and Archives and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The exhibition, which is now on view in the National Museum of American History, received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative.

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Erin Rushing

Erin Clements Rushing is the Outreach Librarian for Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. She enjoys sharing the Libraries and Archives' treasures with new audiences and telling the stories from the stacks through various outreach efforts. She coordinates social media and the blog (Unbound), plans tours and manages the internship program. She also handles rights and reproductions for library collection images and acts as point person for copyright concerns. Erin holds an M.L.S from the University of Maryland, as well as a B.A. in History and Art History.