Part 3: The future of zines in Malta

The beauty of zines lies in their accessibility and the sense of community they foster. Whether personal, political, or purely artistic, zines are a powerful tool for self-expression and communication. 

Michelle’s hopes for zine culture in Malta are deeply tied to the desire for more openness in publishing and a stronger local community. “Zine culture is crucial in Malta, especially considering the monopoly on publishing,” she says. “I hope more people, even non-artists or non-writers, would start making their own zines. It’s important for fostering open discussion and critical thinking.” 

The accessibility and low bar of entry into zine-making is what makes a certain future for zines possible, even in Malta. “The art and activism scene in Malta is only growing and zines can be a great way to allow anyone to express themselves and share,” says Aprille. 

For zine culture to thrive, Noah believes that “As long as there's a strong community connected to punk and DIY values, with a sense of humour and a critical perspective on the world we live in, there will always be zines.”

Stressing the importance of zines and self-publishing existing alongside other scenes and artforms, David reminds that the “beauty of zines and other self-published works is that they are not necessarily tied to traditional gatekeepers or specific scenes.”

The folks at Il-Beżżul Bieżel stress that “you don’t self-publish zines, comics or a newspaper because you’re in it for attention, some pocket money or even recognition, but you do it because it’s second nature to you. If you’re contemplating it, then that’s enough of a reason to start”

Everyone we spoke to agrees that anyone can make a zine, no matter their background or skill level.  But for zine culture to progress more locally Al “would love to see more zines being made, zine stalls at events, and zine launches.” 

Steffi also has some practical ideas for how to make this happen, from public and creative hubs dedicating space for self-publishing, to libraries growing their collections of local self-published zines for locals to explore. 

Furthermore, Steffi would like to see more workshops to push local creatives to play with this format. Her hope in the long-term? “Fairs organised to showcase and celebrate locally produced and self-published zines.”

While Steffi has a more critical approach, and believes that zine culture hasn’t arrived on our island yet, Michelle remains optimistic, despite the challenges. “The public here isn’t that familiar with zines yet, but I believe that workshops and exposure can help grow the scene.” 

We are confident that we will soon be seeing and participating in zine workshops by some of the artists we’ve spoken to, but if you can’t wait to put your own ideas to paper, read on for Part 4 - our how-to on zine-making!

Exploring Zine Culture in Malta: A Conversation with Local Creators

il-lokal is supporting a growing community of local artists and creators experimenting with zines and self-publishing as a form of self-expression, activism, and art. In this series, we search for the hidden history of zines in Malta, explore zine culture with contemporary zine-makers, and lay down the foundations for zines to come! 

We thank Dr John Baldacchino, and Mark Camilleri for taking the time to talk to us about ‘self-publishing’ in Malta in the past; Prof. Carmen Sammut for reminding us of the existence of the Melitensia archives at University of Malta library; designers Elisa von Brockdorff and Stephen Scicluna; and all the makers who engaged in conversation with us about their craft: Al Siew, Aprille Zammit, Il-Beżżul Bieżel, David Schembri, Martina Farrugia, Michelle Gruppetta, Noah Fabri, Steffi Venturi, and Suzanne Maas.

Part 1: history | Part 2: introduction to zines | Part 3: the future | Part 4: make your own!