On July 18th, we are partnering up with our friends over at pink slip zine and the pub to bring the first Loose Leaf Fest! This will be an evening caught at the intersection between the underground music and DIY zine makers that keep our local scenes vibrant and inviting. Along with music by Abel, Sleep Tight Tiger, Hollow Bastion, and Mold Gold, several local zine makers will be tabling their work.
Kicking off the night with a skills-based workshop, led by Charlie Chute, attendees will have the chance to craft and collab on their own zines. Supplies will be provided, but feel free to bring anything you’d like to work on.
Get acquainted with the folks who will be hosting tables at Loose Leaf Fest!
Charlie Chute (Workshop Leader)
“As a queer multidisciplinary artist, my work explores the intersections of materiality, gender, sexuality, identity and relationships with myself and others. Image, text, the process of making, and the act of processing the emotions that come with it are central to my practice. My work is largely autobiographical. Based on my own lived experiences, it becomes a way to move through different themes as they emerge. Working across photography, film, printmaking, poetry, comics, illustration, and zines, I create imagined spaces and conversations to help understand my thoughts, feelings, and the world better.”
Analogue Villain
Nando Espinosa Herrera is a freelance photographer, pseudo visual artist, and cat parent. Currently exploring print as medium and form, you can find him offering chilly-powdered lollies to friends who need a little spicy sweetness in their lives.
Fiilthy Glo
A back alley artists collective. Fiilthy Glo is a zine rooted in Chicago catering to the experimental ((&& slightly strange)). Run by independent creatives,, we strive to cultivate a community that celebrates authenticity and uplifts the unconventional. All misfits welcome.
Kenaussy
“Throughout my exploration of not so well-versed self identity, I’ve been drawn back to the duality of being a woman. As a multimedia artist, my work primarily deals with themes of womanhood, connection through environment, identity, sexuality and community/ “alternative” culture. I am currently a masters student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago pursuing my MFA in photography.”
Ninas Tristes
Rebecca Arroyo and Ari Franco’s creative partnership traces its roots back to high school, sparked by a mutual love for art, books, and film. But it was during the summer of 2015, lounging on the grass fields of Dvorak Park, that Niñas Tristes truly came into bloom. Over a pint of brown liquor, they traded stories of romantic letdowns and personal histories, moments that now fuel their visual storytelling. As native Chicago artists, they use layers of paper, memory, and nostalgia to transform intimate vulnerability into collective art.
Roadhouse Magazine
Roadhouse Magazine is a space for Chicago’s DIY music and art scene to come together. We feature reviews of local musicians, upcoming bands and albums, and showcase other creative work like photography and poetry from Chicago musicians within our physical print magazine. Our goal is to give artists, fans, and everyone in between a platform to discover, share, and celebrate the work happening in our city.
Weird Grrrl Zine
Weirdgrrrlzine is a bi-yearly self published magazine based in Chicago, IL. The zine began in 2021 by Syd Wrigley as a way to cope with becoming disabled, and is now sixteen issues running.
Loose Leaf Fest will be a PWYC event hosted at Dovetail Brewery. Along with zinesters, My Darling Ghost will be selling their special loose-leaf tea blends. Bring your friends and crafts! Hope to see you there.
the ugly hug 