A Paper Plains Zine Fest film screening and panel discussion presented in partnership with KU Libraries and Trans Lawrence Coalition.

Due to mature content, this film is recommended for ages 18+.

ABOUT THE FILM:

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution is a documentary by former Lawrencian Yony Leyser about the rise of pop artists who used queer identity to push back against gay assimilation and homophobic punk culture. Chronicling the cultural phenomenon known as Queercore, the film traces its underground origins in the 80’s as a punk subculture aimed at radical artistic and political expression, and its growth into a global activist movement for queer youth.

ABOUT THE PANEL:

“Part of an Ongoing History”?: The Past, Present, and Future of Queer and Trans Zine Culture

This panel, moderated by Monty Protest, features contemporary queer and trans zinesters rachel j. atakpa, Zach Frazier, and Bones discussing their responses to the documentary Queercore; their relationship to queer and zine and/or punk culture of the past and present; as well as their thoughts on the role of zines in creating a liberatory future for queer and trans people.

• Monty Protest (he/him & she/her) is a member of Lawrence’s punk zine scene as well as a Zine Fellow with the Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity at KU and a co-organizer of Paper Plains Zine Fest.
• rachel j. atakpa (rae/raje) is a poet, artist, and grower. atakpa’s writing, artwork, and garden are concerned with transtemporality, body politics, and ecosomatics; rae practices Black feminisms. atakpa is a Charlotte Street Foundation studio resident (2022-2024) and the author of one chapbook, FITS: a biomythography (2023). rae has made and distributed political zines since age 16. find raje work @ atakpa.cargo.site
• Zach Frazier (they/them & he/him) is an art director/educator whose research × creative practice exists in order to promote and celebrate historically minoritized narratives. They are the founder and publisher of Astringent Press, an independent qBpoc press that seeks to publish and distribute visual and/or literary narratives which would otherwise go unheard or unseen. Zach also serves as the Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
• Bones AKA James Owsley (any pronouns) is a pansexual, agender punk and zinester. Bones is the head writer and editor of the Wichita-based DIY punk zine “Oi! Bones!,” published monthly with their collaborators writer Indigo and artist Hamilton.