CZF 2026 workshops and panel

• 11:30 am–12:30 pm: Indigenous Zinester Panel
  • For Native and Indigenous artists and innovators who found it difficult breaking into mainstream publishing, zines have been a crucial outlet. Come celebrate self-publishing and Indigenous voices at the Chicago Zine Fest by attending the “Indigenous Zinesters” panel, where Native and Indigenous writers, artists, and makers will share their zine-related work. Explore DIY print culture that challenges dominant narratives for real, lived experiences while uplifting narratives, such as the relationship to storytelling, land defense, or radical archival histories. Panelists: • Analú María López (Huachichil/Xi’úi) from Zhegagoynak (Chicago) is a writer and community builder and librarian at the Newberry Library, where she curates the Indigenous collection. • River Kerstetter (Oneida) from Zhegagoynak (Chicago) is a designer, writer, and curator. • Andi Murphy from Albuquerque, New Mexico is a Diné journalist and podcaster who creates Toasted Sister zines, focused on Indigenous food stories. • Lindsey Danae Perez from Portland, Oregon, is a two-spirit Tongva illustrative artist who encourages self-decolonization through visual storytelling, giving voice to gender-nonconforming experiences, cultural reclamation, and spiritual awakening in their collection of handmade, self published comic zines.
• 1–2 pm: Exquisite Corpse: Collaborative Character Creation
  • This workshop, hosted by Columbia College Chicago’s Illustration Student Group, encourages attendees to collaborate with one another to randomly create a character! Each group will work in teams to design a head, body, and torso without seeing what everyone else draws. After everyone’s character is complete, you’ll reveal what wacky creations you’ve come up with together!
• 2:30–3:30 pm: Street Signs & Sorcery: Fantasy Character Design Workshop
  • Chicago has some VERY good street names, so obviously we should turn them into fantasy characters. Participants will get a real Chicago street-sign intersection as a name plus a randomly assigned species and class, then use those clues to create an original adventurer. We’ll start with a quick character design lesson, then spend the rest of the workshop drawing, designing, and making weird little guys. No D&D or TTRPG experience required! Hosted by CZF organizer Emily Steffen.

Venue Accessibility

​This year’s fest will take place at the Harold Washington Library Center 8th and 9th floors, which are both wheelchair accessible. There will be two entrances open to the public: the main entrance on the east side of the building at 400 South State Street and a second entrance on the south side of the building on Ida B. Wells Drive. If you have concerns about accessing the library, please contact the library directly. Check out photos of last year’s fest to get a sense for the main exhibiting space on the 9th floor.

There are bathrooms located on each floor. Although they are marked by gender, all visitors are welcome to use whichever restroom they feel most comfortable in.

There is no parking garage at the Harold Washington Library. The library provides a list of paid parking facilities within walking distance of the library. The Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren L station is located just outside the library, serving the brown, orange, and pink lines. Many busses stop at the library, including the #2, #6, #10, #22, #24, #29, #36, #62, #146, #147, and #148. There are bike racks on the east and west sides of the library, at 401 S Plymouth Court and 400 S State St.