Sunday 22nd May 2011, in the shadow of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and opposite the Sydney Opera House, the Museum of Contemporary Art hosted a zine fair as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. 50 tables traded to a small but enthusiastic crowd. It was a fusion of the literary and the artistic with comics increasingly appearing in art galleries due to their increased cultural status and the growing popularity of graphic novels.

Sydney Opera House. (Photo by Michael Hill)

Sydney Harbour Bridge.

MCA. (Photo by Michael Hill)

The make-up of the stall-holders on the trading floor was a bit of a mystery with a notable presence of craft makers selling jewellery and accessories that led to complaints by some comics creators who were unable to acquire a table about the application and selection process not being all that consistent nor transparent. Despite this crossover of artistic fields it was a busy site for trading activities in the Zine table area which also provided the opportunity for creators to meet and mingle(see photos below).

Zine Fair program!

Creators trading. (Photo by Louise Graber)

L to R: Tim McEwen, Doctor Comics, Cefn Ridout. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Busy Foundation Hall. (Photo by Louise Graber)

Stuart Stratu. (Photo by Louise Graber)

David Puckeridge with “BOX”.

Doctor Comics with Antoinette Rydyr. (Photo by Louise Graber)

This post is from the series Archive of Australian Alternative Comics research conducted for my PhD at Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, and awarded by virtue of the thesis A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000 With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003. On completion I donated my comics collection to the National Library of Australia: Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics. Posts in this series:  Comic-Fest   Comics  in Record Shops   Comics Workshops   Down Under Ground   Getting SMASH(ed)!   Imaginary Worlds Symposium    International Exhibition of Drawings   OZCON   Mind Rot   Savage Pencils   Sick Puppy Comix   TiNA Arena   MCA Zine Fair   2002 Sequential Art Studies Conference   2nd Sequential Art Studies Conference