Photo courtesy of ARCMTL
There are few DIY local events that withstood the passing of time and continue to grow and foster a community with new and engaged participants, and Expozine is one of them. This year, they are celebrating their 25th edition after being an essential institution in the Montréal independent publishing scene. With a packed programming ranging from a panel on Typography and the graphic aesthetics of erotic magazines at the librairie Mes Pants de Queer, to unseen footage from the Ultimatum festival at Cheval Blanc, Expozine is pushing forth a milieu of free activities pointing towards a general feeling of retrospection and looking back at the fair’s 25-year trajectory.
This upcoming weekend, from November 14th to 15th, the Salon Expozine will take place from 11 am to 6 pm at Saint Arsène Church (1025 Rue Bélanger), where over 300 authors, artists, publishers, magazines, and more will share their work with an avid array of readers. Supported financially by the Canada Council of the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, SODEC, and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal, Expozine remains a point of reference and a landing pad for both emerging and established artists across the island.
Historically, zines have always been a creative tool for the democratization of knowledge, creation of discourse, sharing of artistic discussions and building accessibility within the publishing industry. These are the beliefs at the core of ARCMTL’s mandate.
ARCMTL is a non-profit organization active since 1998 and the driving force behind Expozine, which champions the promotion and preservation of local independent culture through its extensive archive collection and multiple initiatives such as the Volume MTL art book fair, the Montreal Printed Art Festival and the emblematic Distroboto vending machines. Throughout this week, there are panels, poetry readings, archival retrospectives, workshops, and guided readings that all speak to the double mandate of the organization: to promote and preserve the arts and independent publishing, as well as fostering a space for the communities that make this city a place where organizations like ARCMTL continue to thrive.
I had the opportunity to interview ARCMTL’s current director and co-founder of Expozine, Louis Rastelli, to talk about these past 25 years in retrospect and the current state of the independent publishing scene in Montréal. Rastelli recounts that when Expozine first started, there was a sense that the internet and online world of blogs would eventually replace printed media. There used to be a belief that the digital was somehow more permanent than the physical, and we discussed how those notions have contemporarily flipped into opposite positions. In an era where everything is paywalled, deleted, corrupted, or simply wiped from online databases, physical media has experienced a resurgence among younger generations. The internet is now seen as ephemeral in a time of technological overload. Rastelli champions the DIY boom and the return to printing, as well as how an initiative like ARCMTL continues to be pertinent when meeting the needs of the Montréal artistic community. Rastelli emphasized Expozine’s commitment to diversity of opinions while curating a programming of common interest. Highlighting that “Expozine is a free speech space. Bringing your opinions out, presenting what you have. Openly debating everything. It is a space for discussion. We are custodians of a place for self-expression”.
Rastelli recounted the origins behind ARCMTL and Expozine, stating that the organization was born in 1997, at the Cheval Blanc bar, “It was a cool bar, great beer, but also a lot of zine launches, book launches, comic book launches, etc. would happen there back in the 90s. It was the spot.” I’d also like to highlight that Cheval Blanc currently has an archival exhibition until November 30th, celebrating Expozine and Distroboto’s 25th anniversary. This bar is also one of the only spaces that still has a Distroboto: a project started at ARCMTL which consists of refurbished cigarette machines that hold zines and artwork sold for 2 to 4 dollars. Rastelli stated that the machines were set up with the purpose of platforming independent publishers during a time when gentrification hadn’t eliminated a lot of historical independent venues and art hubs. At some point, there were around 17 machines across the city: “It was all about democratizing art, and it's a shame that there are no longer as many cheap cafes or bars around. By the nature of how things go, it is hard to find homes for these [the Distrobotos] in places that are accessible. It has always been a tough one, like a runaway horse.”
One of the things I always look forward to every year on the eve of Expozine is their iconic posters. Rastelli spoke about the design choice behind this year’s poster, created by Billy Mavreas, original co-founder and the artist who designed the first posters for the expo back in the early 2000s. Rastelli refers to this as a “return to the source. […] a mashup of all kinds of symbols of zine makers and Expozine. It is very much an anniversary poster, and it’s quite odd-looking” (I really like it). Additionally, when the expo was first created, there was a conscious decision not to have a specific logo or format that should be followed year after year, which has allowed for a plethora of artists to display their artistic visions on what Expozine means, and for the event to never feel static and continue evolving alongside its readers. On the note of the future of the organization, I asked Rastelli about his hopes for the expo, or if there are any new projects we should look out for. He stated there is a new online catalogue for ARCMTL that is an Expozine collection, comprised of thousands of zines featured in the expo: “We are excited to get people involved in the process of documenting one’s history through zines”. Additionally, organizing members for Expozine have been invited to attend the African Art book fair in Senegal next week as the Canadian delegation. After 25 years, Expozine continues growing and looking forward.
Given the high volume of expositors present this upcoming weekend, I’d like to highlight a few that are some of my favourite journals, magazines, artists, and collectives in the scene. Make sure to check out: ankiné, Arts for Palestine Montreal, Bootlegger Magazine, Cactus Press, the Fine Arts Reading Room, Mes pants de queer, Metatron and Metonymy Press, the Queer Print Club, Scatterbrain Magazine, rodaisun, The Pit Periodical, and Yolk Literary. And maybe, you’ll find your new favourite publication to keep at your desk, nightstand, or at the bottom of your bag.
WHAT: Expozine
WHERE: Église Saint-Arsène (1025 Rue Bélanger E.)
WHEN: November 14th and 15th, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
*Plus more events throughout the week from November 7th to the 15th!
METRO: Jean Talon (Orange and Blue)
DETAILS: List of Exhibitors & Programme
