Collective dream work:
ZINE hang-out & think-in
with Hamja Ahsan & friends
wednesday
26 march
18:00 -22:00
@artistic research studio
IJburglaan 1503@artistic research studio
1087 KM Amsterdam
Hamja Ahsan has been making and collecting zines for over 30 years. He is in possession of what is probably the world’s largest zine archive on the topic of neurodivergence, and advocates for the zine as a medium for all ages to access a practice of creative play within the drudgery of adulthood.
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At the same time, Hamja understands zines as a tool of activism and empowerment. For five years, he organised the DIY Cultures Fair in London, which distinguished itself by its commitment to Black and people of colour empowerment and centralising marginalised histories and subcultures, including decolonising initiatives, diaspora stories, prisoner solidarity, radical mental health and Muslim communities under the War on terror.
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Together we will convivially think through making the world’s first neurodiversity zine fair. Making pages for a zine on our speculations and ideas, day dreams and experiences.
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No experiences necessary. Participants can bring in zines, poems, books that have inspired them to the table. Pens, scissors, collage materials, or making zine pages, draw digitally on procreate or tablets. This may be collated together for a future zine.
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Hamja Ahsan will bring in his
neurodiversity zine archive, which participants can browse for durations of the session with Zine and Chill.
At the same time, Hamja understands zines as a tool of activism and empowerment. For five years, he organised the DIY Cultures Fair in London, which distinguished itself by its commitment to Black and people of colour empowerment and centralising marginalised histories and subcultures, including decolonising initiatives, diaspora stories, prisoner solidarity, radical mental health and Muslim communities under the War on terror.
Together we will convivially think through making the world’s first neurodiversity zine fair. Making pages for a zine on our speculations and ideas, day dreams and experiences.
No experiences necessary. Participants can bring in zines, poems, books that have inspired them to the table. Pens, scissors, collage materials, or making zine pages, draw digitally on procreate or tablets. This may be collated together for a future zine.
Hamja Ahsan will bring in his
neurodiversity zine archive, which participants can browse for durations of the session with Zine and Chill.
Hamja will talk about the making of his influential radical zine fair & creative activist fair DIY Cultures which ran 2013-2017 in London and navigating zine worlds. How can zine fairs help us rethink participation, authority, access and inclusion? We will collectively think: what zine fair would we like to build for the future? And make concept flyers and programmes for our imagine future zine fairs.
read interview with Hamja Ahsan
Follow Hamja Zine collection: @diyzinebank
Hamja’s zine collection
www.hamjaahsan.com
interesting zine archives
Hamja interviewing marc from zine depo
zine depot Marc van Elburg
Bacteria
Stadsarchief
Amsterdam Koninklijke bibliotheek
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL HISTORY
About the artist
Hamja Ahsan
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Hamja Ahsan is a award-winning artist, writer, curator and activist based in London.
His art practice draws from the language and formats of Liberation movements. He is best known for the book Shy Radicals: Antisystemic Politics of the Militant Introvert, recently made into a film, that envisions a utopic homeland for quiet, awkward and neurodiverse peoples. He was awarded the Grand Prize at Ljubljana Biennial 2019 for the art work Aspergistan Referendum based on this book. His art practice weaves inside and outside the artworld, progressive movements, muslim diasporic spaces, in the form of speaker-tours, coining critical languages, zine fairs, building archives and collections, as well as exhibition spaces.
He has presented art projects at the NY Art Book Fair at MOMA PS1; Tate Modern, London; Gwangju Biennale; Shanaakht festival, Karachi; and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Warsaw and was a resident artist at Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht in 2020–21. He is currently working on his 2nd book Radical Chicken about his Documenta 15 project on Halal Fried Chicken shops.
Website: hamjaahsan.com
IG: @shyradicals
>SUPPORT Patreon: my tours, artwork, activism (from £1.56 a month)
IG: @chickencontemporary
> Radical Chicken (Documenta 15)
Liberation Fried Chicken Merchandise here
March 2025
Hamja Ahsan
Hamja Ahsan is a award-winning artist, writer, curator and activist based in London.
His art practice draws from the language and formats of Liberation movements. He is best known for the book Shy Radicals: Antisystemic Politics of the Militant Introvert, recently made into a film, that envisions a utopic homeland for quiet, awkward and neurodiverse peoples. He was awarded the Grand Prize at Ljubljana Biennial 2019 for the art work Aspergistan Referendum based on this book. His art practice weaves inside and outside the artworld, progressive movements, muslim diasporic spaces, in the form of speaker-tours, coining critical languages, zine fairs, building archives and collections, as well as exhibition spaces.
He has presented art projects at the NY Art Book Fair at MOMA PS1; Tate Modern, London; Gwangju Biennale; Shanaakht festival, Karachi; and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Warsaw and was a resident artist at Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht in 2020–21. He is currently working on his 2nd book Radical Chicken about his Documenta 15 project on Halal Fried Chicken shops.
Website: hamjaahsan.com
IG: @shyradicals
>SUPPORT Patreon: my tours, artwork, activism (from £1.56 a month)
IG: @chickencontemporary
> Radical Chicken (Documenta 15)
Liberation Fried Chicken Merchandise here
March 2025
lə-ˈbȯr-ə-ˌtȯr- ē
