Tāmaki Makaurau was buzzing over the weekend, with events across the city bringing colour and connection to the midwinter chill. Auckland Zinefest took over the Art Gallery’s auditorium – the beloved annual celebration of all things printed and DIY, where artists, writers and makers gather to share their work to a passionate community.
The gallery was packed with adorable and expressive style, with lots of sneakers, piercings, denim, slogan tees, badges and tattoos. We sent photographer Abigail Dell'Avo along with the cute new Fujifilm X half camera – with film-inspired filters and a default vertical format, perfect for social – to capture some of the looks in the crowd.
Nuanzhi Zheng
What is your star sign?
Libra sun.
What is your favourite food?
Mezze Bar. Specifically the Ceviche at Mezze Bar!
Esther Toclo and Laura Allen
What is your favourite cafe?
Esther: Remedy. Laura works there and I just had the bacon egg roll (only $11!). The tuna toastie is delicious as well, and the place is super central.
Laura (staff member at Remedy): The staff are notoriously friendly and gorgeous.
Esther: They are actually gorgeous and friendly!
Favourite zine you found today?
International artists like Margaux Bigou – she’s here for a month! Also Saints Press from Australia.
Esther’s hot tip:
Head to Auckland Central Library, you can borrow zines! We’re doing outreach with the Travelling Zine Room to bring zines to the suburbs, too. Seedling of an idea… featuring Damien Levi from Bad Apple!
Maanika Narsai
What is your favourite thing to do in Tāmaki?
Eating good eats with friends at Dom Road!
What is your favourite spot on Dominion Road?
Xian Food Bar.
What is your go-to order?
The vegetarian Noodles [she’s not vegetarian, but reckons the vegetarian ones are better!]. The cucumber salad is pretty fire too.
Who is your favourite New Zealand artist?
Ella Gibbons and Payton Huse
What is your favourite tattoo?
Ella: My compost tattoo.
Payton: My cherry tomato tomato.
Do you get any print magazines?
Payton: My friend got me a subscription to Bon Appétit, it's got amazing recipes!
Do you have any favourite recipes?
We made a vegetarian savoury pie recently which was yummy.
Bones Dreadon
Where do you go in Tāmaki for creative inspo?
The bush out west for creative inspo, or the clubs like Neck of the Woods. It’s one or the other!
Who is your favourite local artist?
Marydahfairy, who is selling zines here today! And Summer Vee has got some cool songs.
Rebecca Gwendolon
Lore around their last name (as it auto-corrected to Gwendolyn):
My last name was misspelt when my great-grandmother was born – and it’s stayed like that ever since!
Where is your outfit from?
The shirt, my friend Gareth got me; my purple shirt is from the Salvation shop, the pants are from Dangerfield – I got them on discount – and the shoes are from Wellington.
The watch is from the Pride and Joy, the 2023 Swatch Pride Collection. It was the last one available internationally. [My friend] Diana bought it for me in Sydney, and my other friend Caroline bought it from Diana’s house back to me in Auckland.
Shruthi Balaji and Anndi Divya of Migrant Maharanis
What is your star sign?
Shruthi: Taurus sun, Pisces moon, Sagittarius rising.
Anndi: Virgo sun, Pisces moon and rising.
Where can you get the best matcha?
Shruthi: Black Drop Eatery.
Star and Jas
What have you bought today at Zinefest?
Jas: Not Just Another Patient zine created by my friend Bayleigh (@willow_raedesigns) – it’s about their struggles and experiences and patient care in mental health.
Star: I’ve just bought stickers! The ‘glorpshit’ is my favourite! I’ve also made a zine, So you want to wear a mask, about local Covid info and where to buy masks in Aotearoa.
Song on repeat?
Jas: Anything by Kneecap, a Gaelic rap group from Ireland.
Star: Bo Peep Bo Peep by T-Ara.
Jake Tabata and Sara Chen
Do you have a favourite magazine or zine?
Sara: Migrant Zine Collective! I also have a subscription to Sine Theta, they do a lot of cool Asian artwork.
Jake: I love Rat World.
Where are your pants from?
Sara: Dangerfield.
Jake: Japan, from a random store in Osaka!
Gwen Lin and Harry Matheson of Food Coma zine
What is your favourite place to get matcha?
Gwen: Dear Deer.
What is your favourite printed magazine or zine?
Harry: Rat World.
Hunter
What’s your go-to snack while making zines?
Monster Energy!
What colour is your aura today?
Red and blue.
Elliot Rowlands
What’s in the binders?
Business cards! At the start, I wanted to collect everyone’s business cards; they are like little pieces of artwork. I didn't want them sitting in a pile, I wanted to do something with them. Then I found this artist (Thorns & Aces) who did beautiful covers for binders. It started small, then grew: 1, 2, 4, 6 binders... now over 400 cards. I even have blank cards for people to create their own.
Favourite business card?
Yuri Chetty, though they’re inactive now.
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