ZAPP

A report on the ZAPP collection at The Seattle Public Library.

It's been a long, long time, by Violet Fox A note from the Notes section of the Seattle Review of Books

Dear friends & family of Zombie ZAPP - a fellow DIY Space of legend is in the middle of an emergency - Silent Barn in NYC needs to raise a metric sh*tload (20k) of money between now and the 1st.

ZAPP died due to financial limitations, and it's a loss I personally will never recover from. Help our sisters and brothers in NYC keep the DIY dream alive! Spread the word.

-KHiggs

(village voice story for context: https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/12/28/silent-barn-fights-for-its-life/)

Support Silent Barn Today Help support a galaxy of artists, organizers, youth, educators, dreamers, and doers who activate our space throughout the year!

The Official Statement:

To Whom it May Concern,

Important News Regarding the Zine Archive and Publishing Project.

Effective immediately Seattle Public Library will be taking over storage, programming, and access to ZAPP's collection of over 30,000 zines. The collection will be donated by the Richard Hugo House to SPL without ZAPP's advance knowledge or consent, taking advantage of an veto-option expiration clause in a contract with ZAPP. Said contract stated that RHH maintained formal ownership of the collection until such a time as ZAPP found a permanent home for it. As such, in the years since leaving RHH, the entirely volunteer-run crew at ZAPP have been searching for a space that could safely and permanently house the growing archive, all while fundraising, consulting with experts in non-profit growth, and maintaining a presence in the community through tabling, programming and releasing compilation zines. We were not given a deadline or any indication that this deal was in the works; there was a good-faith agreement that RHH would support ZAPP in its efforts. ZAPP as an organization will close, and the funds we have raised to date will be donated to Short Run Festival, Hollow Earth Radio, and the IPRC in Portland.
So what does this mean? On the upside, the Zines will be safe, and eventually available to the public and browsable once again. We here at ZAPP have held this as our goal since RHH decided to use the former ZAPP space for a classroom, and it is good to know the zines will be safe and accessible. SPL has begun assessment of the collection and will be deciding the exact wheres and hows of making the zines publicly available as this process goes on. We are cautiously optimistic that SPL will do this incredible collection justice.
However, ZAPP has always operated with a goal of complete independence, and many of the volunteers, donors, and supporters over the years have helped out with a fully independent ZAPP in mind. It is not unreasonable to think that had knowledge of this sale been available beforehand, many folks would have kept their money. For years we were working methodically to find a space that was big enough, safe enough and would give the archive room to grow. In 2015 we had a record fundraising year and we continued to build and structure the organization so it could be sustainable for years into the future. That said, as an official organization, it no longer makes sense for us to continue without access to the zines. We trust that the larger community and communities that met, started, or grew out of ZAPP will continue to thrive in various iterations for years to come.
We do not plan to make this a legal fight, as once again, the zines are safe. But given all the hard work put into ZAPP over the years, as well as all the support and donations we've received, it is important that we make it clear: we did not give up the archive, it was taken from us.
Both I, personally, and ZAPP collectively want to thank everyone who donated zines, time, money, energy, or just stopped by to say hi over the last twenty-odd years.

If you have any questions, I'd love to talk.

best
Graham Isaac
Zine Archive and Publishing Project
Managing Director

Our pals at Olympia Zine Fest are getting ready for their second year, and we can't wait!! They start off the fun with a punk show on Friday Sept. 30th, followed by the big expo Saturday October 1st, and a full day of workshops on Sunday October 2nd. Check out their FB page for full details and consider a fun road trip down to Oly!

And check out their Zine Club, happening monthly at Olympia Timberland Library!

Hi all! Thanks to everyone who's submitted to Xenographic: IRL/URL. We've gotten lots of great submissions and will be moving to format soon. If you promised us something (or had something solicited) that you're *almost* done with-- go ahead and still send it! It's been a busy year, what with space-searching, tabling in and out of town and fundraising, but we're excited for you to see all the great art in the next XENO!

We are still accepting submissions to Xenographic: IRL/URL. Send yours to [email protected]

We at ZAPP are proud to be community partners with Seattle Art Museum in presenting Graphic Masters. This is going to be a great exhibit that highlights many types of graphic artwork throughout history. That's a technical term-- graphic artwork. You know.

We've gotten many great submissions to the next Xenographic: URL/IRL . . . but we want More! Extending the deadline a bit to accommodate more of your great writings, rantings, drawings, doodles, photos and more! Send submissions to [email protected]