Underground & Unapologetic: A Black Queer Zine Workshop

This hands-on artmaking gathering invites participants to reclaim and reimagine Black queer histories through DIY publishing, working with form, imagery, and composition while activating works from the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Arts expansive library archive. Led by multidisciplinary artist Damien Davis and Gabriel Boyd, we will engage with the functions and processes of zine-making and information-sharing through time, using the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and the Culture Wars of the 1990s as key historic points of departure. This hands-on session delves into the ways Black queer artists, activists, and writers have shaped history, often against the odds. Together, we take our cue from the influence of Black artmakers and historical figures, and create one-of-a-kind works from an array of print materials.

Participants will have access to curated research materials, including writings, imagery, and archival documents, to inspire their own zine creations. In addition, attendees are encouraged to bring their own archival materials—family photos, letters, newspaper clippings, or any personal/historical documents they wish to incorporate into their work. This workshop is a space for exploration, storytelling, and creative resistance. Attendees do not need any prior experience to take part, nor do they need to create a final product.

What’s a zine?

A zine is a self-published, DIY publication. The practice of zine-making is rooted in DIY culture and activism, and is a major method for queering publishing, with a focus on distribution over profit. As a result, zines have a rich history within queer, LGBTQIA+ communities and movements, requiring few resources (paper, scissors, glue, and a photocopier) for making radical art, information, and stories widely accessible.

About the Artists

Damien Davis is a Newark-based artist whose work recontextualizes cultural symbols to explore identity and history. His distinctive visual language has been featured in exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Davis has participated in notable residencies, including the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Project for Empty Space. He has received awards such as the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Community Engagement Grant. A dedicated educator, he currently teaches at Purchase College (SUNY). Davis holds a BFA and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University.

Gabriel Boyd is a Black trans artist based in New York and a current student at SUNY Purchase. Working primarily with found materials and performance, their practice explores Black cultural signifiers, such as Black hair and hair care products to interrogate how Black experiences interact with the virtual. They are excited to assist at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, helping curate a making experience that weaves together Black queer past, present, and future.

CART Captioning and ASL can be provided upon request with 1 week advance. Five external steps lead to our entrance doors: a wheelchair lift is available. All galleries are wheelchair-accessible, and a single-occupancy accessible restroom is located behind the visitor services desk: all restrooms are gender-neutral. Large print didactics are available.

For questions or access requests, please email [email protected] with 1 week advance of your visit.

Host or Publisher Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art