You don’t need to know how to draw. You don’t need to call yourself a writer.

You just need something you’re curious about.

It could be about yourself. A person you want to understand better. A place you care about. Something you’ve been wondering about.

What happens when you follow that curiosity — ask a few questions, notice more closely, put it together in your own way?

That curiosity can become a zine.

And we’re inviting you to make one.

Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) and Public Source are working together to engage people of all ages to create small, self-made booklets that explore the people, places and experiences around us.

Zines can take many forms. They can be made from a single folded page or something more detailed.

No experience is required.

You can make one on your own, with friends or family or as part of a class or community group.

Some of the zines will be part of an interactive display at MuseumLab, CMP’s newest space in the former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, and then will travel to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Select zines may also be published online by Public Source.

Together, these zines will create a snapshot of the Pittsburgh region — told from many different points of view. People will be able to flip through them, see how others experience the same places and discover stories they might not come across otherwise.

This is a chance to follow your curiosity, create something of your own and share it with others.

What is a zine?

A zine (pronounced zeen) is an independently made publication, often created to share art, stories, ideas or community voices outside traditional publishing. It might include writing, poetry, drawings, interviews, photos, collage, diagrams, timelines or a mix.

They can be serious, playful, personal or reported.

Who this is for

• Kids, teens and adults
  
• Families, classrooms and community groups
  
• Creatives, artists, writers, journalists, students
  
• People in the Pittsburgh region

Submissions may be curated for different age groups and display settings.

Prompts to get you started

You can respond to one of these prompts, combine a few or follow a curiosity of your own:

• What are you curious about right now?
  Follow the question wherever it leads. You might wonder what your teacher does outside of school, why adulthood feels different from what you expected or how something in your neighborhood works.
• Who would you like to understand better?
  Start a conversation and ask open-ended questions. You might ask: What is a story about you that rarely gets told? What matters more to you now than it did a few years ago? What was a turning point in your life?
• What topic keeps coming up at home, school, work or in your community?
  Ask a few people how they experience it. What do their perspectives have in common? Where do they differ?
• What place do you want to look at more closely?
  Explore a block, building, business, park, bus route or gathering place. What happens there? Who uses it? What stories or details might other people overlook?
• What tradition or experience do you want others to know about?
  Show where it came from, what it means to you or your community and how it may be changing.
• What surprised you once you started asking questions?
  Your zine can tell the story of how your thinking changed, what challenged your assumptions or what you still want to understand.

Zine workshops and events

Want to make something for the zine open call, but not sure where to start? Public Source and our partners are offering workshops and events where you can make a zine, learn a new skill or get some inspiration.

Aug. 21 | 5–8 p.m.

Zine workshop

Join artist John Peña and Public Source for a hands-on zine workshop hosted by Artists Image Resource. Make your own zine and learn more about submitting work to the zine storytelling exhibit.

Where: Artists Image Resource, 518 Foreland St., Pittsburgh 15212
Registration: Sign up through Artists Image Resource

Aug. 29–30

Bookbinding workshops + AmaZINE Educator Workshops

All are invited to learn bookbinding techniques at MuseumLab that can be put to use in making your own zines.

And for the educator workshops, learn basic zine-making techniques, explore ways to help your kids follow their curiosity and tell their stories, and see ways to use zines in your classroom.

Hosted by: MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212
Details: See the MuseumLab calendar for details and to register

Sept. 5–6

Papermaking workshops

Make paper by hand at MuseumLab and consider turning what you create into a zine of your own.

Hosted by: MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212
Details: See the MuseumLab calendar for details and to register

Sept. 12 | 12:30-1 p.m.

Red String Zines

Picture a cork-board with a bunch of scraps, pins and red string. Deep theories, wild ideas – what would be on your board? We’ll create zines and recordings based on your passionate rants and fixations. Open to all youth ages 12-18.

Hosted by: Youth Media Center with SLB Radio, co-located inside the Children’s Museum, 10 Children’s Way
Details: Visit ymc.slbradio.org or email alexa@slbradio.org for more information.

Sept. 13 | 12-2 p.m.

DIY Zine Making

Join us step-by-step as we guide you in building your very own zine. Follow your curiosity with a Write Pittsburgh facilitator as they walk you through writing prompts to inspire and how to build a zine.

Hosted by: Write Pittsburgh
Details: Located at Bantha Tea Bar, 5002 Penn Ave. All ages and levels welcome. Basic supplies provided; bring any additional supplies to add your flair. Register to the free workshop here.

Sept. 15 | 6-8 p.m.

DIY Zine Making

Join Public Source and Prototype PGH staff for a zine-making workshop. Use collage materials and other creative tools to learn how to make a zine. Tell a story, explore a question or make a piece of art. No experience necessary.

Hosted by: Prototype PGH
Details: Located at Prototype Oakland, 460 Melwood Ave. All ages and levels welcome. Basic collage and drawing supplies provided; bring any additional supplies to add your flair. No registration necessary.

Sept. 19 and 26 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Almost Perfect: An Introduction to DIY Photobook Binding

Have you ever wanted to make a photobook but didn’t know where to start? Join artist Brent Nakamoto of Almost Perfect Press for a hands-on workshop that guides participants through creating a photobook from concept to completion, leaving with a designed and handbound chapbook.

Hosted by: Silver Eye Center for Photography
Details: The two-day workshop registration and materials fee is $150.00. Register by 5 p.m. Sept. 11. More information here.

Sept. 20 | 3 p.m.

Reporting your world: Turn what you notice into a zine

You don’t need to be a journalist to report on the world around you. Pittsburgh’s Public Source will share simple techniques journalists use — observing closely, asking good questions, gathering details and talking with neighbors — and help participants turn what they discover into a mini-zine about a place, person or issue that matters to them.

Participants will leave with the start of a handmade piece of journalism that captures something about their community through their own eyes. Finish it at home and keep it for yourself or submit it to our zine storytelling exhibit.

Hosted by: MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212
Details: Part of Slow Tech Festival. Sign up for free here

Sept. 20 | 7-9 p.m.

Zine Social: Cut, Paste & Get Curious with Dana Mendieta

Ever been curious about making a zine? Come cut, paste, get weird, and get curious with us.

Local zine maker Dana Mendieta (Everything in Neon) will guide a relaxed night of collage, conversation, and creating — no rules, no experience needed. Make it funny, poetic, nostalgic, political, or totally strange. Show up with an idea, or just your curiosity.

Hosted by: War Streets Art Salon, 502 W. North Ave., Pittsburgh 15212
Details: Get tickets here

Sept. 26 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Zine workshop

The McKeesport Community Newsroom and Pittsburgh Zine Fair will host a zine-making workshop at the McKeesport Library.

Zines are handmade and self-published magazines and booklets that are directly distributed to the community. In addition to creating your own zine, participants will learn about Pittsburgh’s long history of zine culture.

Details: The workshop is free and open to all ages, but registration is required. Register here.

Watch for announcements in our newsletters and social media or reach out directly to us for information or if you would like to host a workshop.

Submit your zine

• Physical zines can be submitted:
  • At participating workshops
  • At MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, from 12-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
  • At Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, 10 Children’s Way, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; leave your zine with staff at the admissions desk
  • By mail to Public Source, 1936 5th Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
• Digital submissions: PDFs or photos of zines are also welcome. Submit your zine using this form. For larger files, upload it to Google Drive and share the link with info@publicsource.org. Set the link sharing so anyone can view the file.
• For all submissions, please include your name, neighborhood or municipality of residence, contact info and a short description of your zine.

Physical zines selected for display may be kept for an extended period and may not be returned. Because this is an evolving exhibit, we cannot guarantee how long individual submissions will remain on display or be preserved.

What happens next

Timeline:

• August-September 2026: Zine and storytelling workshops. Submit your zines!
• Sept. 30, 2026: Zine submission deadline.
• October 2026: Zines curated for public display and online publication.
• November 2026: Exhibit opens and select work published on publicsource.org.
• Early 2027: Exhibit travels to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where community members can continue to browse the zines and submit their own.

The exhibit will be interactive. Visitors will be able to browse zines, flip through them and make their own alongside the display. New zines may be added over time.

Why we’re doing this

This project brings together creativity, journalism and community storytelling. By encouraging people to ask questions and share what they learn, we hope to spark curiosity, build empathy and highlight the people, places and experiences that shape life across the Pittsburgh region. 

Interested in partnering?

We are also looking to collaborate with educators, community centers, classrooms, youth organizations, artists, printmakers and community groups to help host workshops and spread the word. Please email halle@publicsource.org if interested.

Close window

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

You may republish this Pittsburgh's Public Source story in full online or in print under the conditions stated below. You may also choose to republish the first 12 paragraphs with imagery and link to PublicSource for the full story. All you need to do is copy the HTML code we provide on this page and paste it into your CMS. We strongly encourage you to copy the code and paste it directly into a code editor. In Wordpress, press the three dots in the upper right of the Post and choose Code editor. That should give you the story text, along with photos from the body of the article. Here are your obligations under our republishing guidelines:

• Give us credit, in this format: “by [Author Name(s)], Pittsburgh's Public Source”.
• Include a line at the top of the story that reads: “Pittsburgh's Public Source is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region. Sign up for our free newsletters.”
• In the html code of the page, include a line of javascript that helps us keep track of hits. It’s already in the code below.

Let us know when you use our work by sending an email to natasha@publicsource.org. By republishing our story, you agree to the following conditions:

• You can’t edit, cut or alter the story, except to suit your in-house style (e.g. % vs. “percent,” honorifics, etc).
• You must not resell the story or sell ads against the story. It’s fine to publish the story on a page that’s surrounded by previously sold ads, however.
• Please exclude our work from being published or syndicated to third-party platforms or apps like Newsbreak under your publication name, when possible

If you share the story or a link to the story on social media, please tag us on Twitter (@publicsourcepa), Instagram (@publicsource), Facebook (@publicsource) or TikTok (@publicsource). We reserve the right to deny, revoke or limit the rights conveyed herein for any reason, including (but not limited to) instances in which these conditions are not met or the reproduced material is not presented in a responsible manner.

Open call: Turn your curiosity about people and places into a zine

by Public Source, Pittsburgh's Public Source
September 3, 2026

<h1>Open call: Turn your curiosity about people and places into a zine</h1> <p class="byline">by Public Source, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />September 3, 2026</p> <p>You don’t need to know how to draw. You don’t need to call yourself a writer.</p> <p>You just need something you’re curious about.</p> <p>It could be about yourself. A person you want to understand better. A place you care about. Something you’ve been wondering about.</p> <p>What happens when you follow that curiosity — ask a few questions, notice more closely, put it together in your own way?</p> <p>That curiosity can become a zine.</p> <p>And we’re inviting you to make one.</p> <p>Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) and Public Source are working together to engage people of <em>all ages</em> to create small, self-made booklets that explore the people, places and experiences around us.</p> <p>Zines can take many forms. They can be made from a single folded page or something more detailed.</p> <p>No experience is required.</p> <p>You can make one on your own, with friends or family or as part of a class or community group.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3P8A3840.jpg" alt="Four handmade booklets with illustrated covers, including one with oranges, are arranged in a fan shape on a textured brown surface." class="wp-image-1335084" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo courtesy of Children's Museum of Pittsburgh/Giulia LaForgia)</figcaption></figure> <p>Some of the zines will be part of an interactive display at <a href="https://museumlab.org/about/our-story/">MuseumLab</a>, CMP’s newest space in the former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, and then will travel to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Select zines may also be published online by Public Source.</p> <p>Together, these zines will create a snapshot of the Pittsburgh region — told from many different points of view. People will be able to flip through them, see how others experience the same places and discover stories they might not come across otherwise.</p> <p>This is a chance to follow your curiosity, create something of your own and share it with others.</p> <h2 id="h-what-is-a-zine" class="wp-block-heading">What is a zine?</h2> <p>A zine (pronounced zeen) is an independently made publication, often created to share art, stories, ideas or community voices outside traditional publishing. It might include writing, poetry, drawings, interviews, photos, collage, diagrams, timelines or a mix.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3P8A3822.jpg" alt="Eight handmade zines and notebooks with various covers are neatly arranged in two rows on a wooden surface." class="wp-image-1335083" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo courtesy of Children's Museum of Pittsburgh/Giulia LaForgia)</figcaption></figure> <p>They can be serious, playful, personal or reported.</p> <h2 id="h-who-this-is-for" class="wp-block-heading">Who this is for</h2> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Kids, teens and adults</li> <li>Families, classrooms and community groups</li> <li>Creatives, artists, writers, journalists, students</li> <li>People in the Pittsburgh region</li> </ul> <p>Submissions may be curated for different age groups and display settings.</p> <h2 id="h-prompts-to-get-you-started" class="wp-block-heading">Prompts to get you started</h2> <p>You can respond to one of these prompts, combine a few or follow a curiosity of your own:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>What are you curious about right now?</strong><strong><br /></strong>Follow the question wherever it leads. You might wonder what your teacher does outside of school, why adulthood feels different from what you expected or how something in your neighborhood works.</li> <li><strong>Who would you like to understand better?</strong><strong><br /></strong>Start a conversation and ask open-ended questions. You might ask: What is a story about you that rarely gets told? What matters more to you now than it did a few years ago? What was a turning point in your life?</li> <li><strong>What topic keeps coming up at home, school, work or in your community?</strong><strong><br /></strong>Ask a few people how they experience it. What do their perspectives have in common? Where do they differ?</li> <li><strong>What place do you want to look at more closely?</strong><strong><br /></strong>Explore a block, building, business, park, bus route or gathering place. What happens there? Who uses it? What stories or details might other people overlook?</li> <li><strong>What tradition or experience do you want others to know about?</strong><strong><br /></strong>Show where it came from, what it means to you or your community and how it may be changing.</li> <li><strong>What surprised you once you started asking questions?<br /></strong>Your zine can tell the story of how your thinking changed, what challenged your assumptions or what you still want to understand.</li> </ul> <h2 id="h-zine-workshops-and-events" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Zine workshops and events</strong></h2> <p>Want to make something for the zine open call, but not sure where to start? Public Source and our partners are offering workshops and events where you can make a zine, learn a new skill or get some inspiration.</p> <h3 id="h-aug-21-5-8-p-m" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Aug. 21 | 5–8 p.m.</strong></h3> <p><strong>Zine workshop</strong></p> <p>Join artist John Peña and Public Source for a hands-on zine workshop hosted by Artists Image Resource. Make your own zine and learn more about submitting work to the zine storytelling exhibit.</p> <p><strong>Where:</strong> Artists Image Resource, 518 Foreland St., Pittsburgh 15212<br /><strong>Registration:</strong><a href="https://www.airpgh.org/all-services/p/zine-workshop"> Sign up through Artists Image Resource</a></p> <h3 id="h-aug-29-30" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Aug. 29–30</strong></h3> <p><strong>Bookbinding workshops + AmaZINE Educator Workshops</strong></p> <p>All are invited to learn bookbinding techniques at MuseumLab that can be put to use in making your own zines.</p> <p>And for the educator workshops, learn basic zine-making techniques, explore ways to help your kids follow their curiosity and tell their stories, and see ways to use zines in your classroom.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by</strong>: MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212<br /><strong>Details</strong>: <a href="https://secure.pittsburghkids.org/?site=mlab&amp;kid=32,38">See the MuseumLab calendar for details and to register</a></p> <h3 id="h-sept-5-6" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sept. 5–6</strong></h3> <p><strong>Papermaking workshops</strong></p> <p>Make paper by hand at MuseumLab and consider turning what you create into a zine of your own.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by:</strong> MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212<br /><strong>Details:</strong><a href="https://secure.pittsburghkids.org/?site=mlab&amp;kid=32,38"> See the MuseumLab calendar for details and to register</a></p> <h3 id="h-sept-12-12-30-1-p-m" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sept. 12 | 12:30-1 p.m.</strong></h3> <p><strong>Red String Zines</strong></p> <p>Picture a cork-board with a bunch of scraps, pins and red string. Deep theories, wild ideas – what would be on your board? We’ll create zines and recordings based on your passionate rants and fixations. Open to all youth ages 12-18.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by:</strong> Youth Media Center with SLB Radio, co-located inside the Children's Museum, 10 Children's Way<br /><strong>Details:</strong> Visit <a href="http://ymc.slbradio.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ymc.slbradio.org</a> or email <a href="mailto:alexa@slbradio.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alexa@slbradio.org</a> for more information.</p> <h3 id="h-sept-13-12-2-p-m" class="wp-block-heading">Sept. 13 | 12-2 p.m.</h3> <p><strong>DIY Zine Making</strong></p> <p>Join us step-by-step as we guide you in building your very own zine. Follow your curiosity with a Write Pittsburgh facilitator as they walk you through writing prompts to inspire and how to build a zine.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by:</strong> Write Pittsburgh<br /><strong>Details:</strong> Located at Bantha Tea Bar, 5002 Penn Ave. All ages and levels welcome. Basic supplies provided; bring any additional supplies to add your flair. <a href="https://events.humanitix.com/diy-zine-making">Register to the free workshop here</a>.</p> <h3 id="h-sept-15-6-8-p-m" class="wp-block-heading">Sept. 15 | 6-8 p.m.</h3> <p><strong>DIY Zine Making</strong></p> <p>Join Public Source and Prototype PGH staff for a zine-making workshop. Use collage materials and other creative tools to learn how to make a zine. Tell a story, explore a question or make a piece of art. No experience necessary.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by:</strong> Prototype PGH<br /><strong>Details:</strong> Located at Prototype Oakland, 460 Melwood Ave. All ages and levels welcome. Basic collage and drawing supplies provided; bring any additional supplies to add your flair. No registration necessary.</p> <h3 id="h-sept-19-and-26-11-a-m-2-p-m" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sept. 19 and 26 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m.</strong></h3> <p><strong>Almost Perfect: An Introduction to DIY Photobook Binding</strong></p> <p>Have you ever wanted to make a photobook but didn't know where to start? Join artist&nbsp;Brent Nakamoto&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/almostperfectpress/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Almost Perfect Press</a>&nbsp;for a hands-on workshop that guides participants through creating a photobook from concept to completion, leaving with a designed and handbound chapbook.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by:</strong> Silver Eye Center for Photography<br /><strong>Details:</strong> The two-day workshop registration and materials fee is $150.00.&nbsp;Register by 5 p.m. Sept. 11. <a href="https://silvereye.org/events/almost-perfect-an-introduction-to-diy-photobook-binding">More information here.</a></p> <h3 id="h-sept-20-3-p-m" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sept. 20 | 3 p.m.</strong></h3> <p><strong>Reporting your world: Turn what you notice into a zine</strong></p> <p>You don’t need to be a journalist to report on the world around you. Pittsburgh’s Public Source will share simple techniques journalists use — observing closely, asking good questions, gathering details and talking with neighbors — and help participants turn what they discover into a mini-zine about a place, person or issue that matters to them.</p> <p>Participants will leave with the start of a handmade piece of journalism that captures something about their community through their own eyes. Finish it at home and keep it for yourself or submit it to our zine storytelling exhibit.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by</strong>: MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, 15212<br /><strong>Details</strong>: Part of Slow Tech Festival. <a href="https://secure.pittsburghkids.org/2792/3723">Sign up for free here</a></p> <h3 id="h-sept-20-7-9-p-m" class="wp-block-heading"><strong><strong>Sept. 20 | 7-9 p.m.</strong></strong></h3> <p><strong>Zine Social: Cut, Paste &amp; Get Curious</strong> <strong>with Dana Mendieta</strong></p> <p>Ever been curious about making a zine? Come cut, paste, get weird, and get curious with us.</p> <p>Local zine maker Dana Mendieta (Everything in Neon) will guide a relaxed night of collage, conversation, and creating — no rules, no experience needed. Make it funny, poetic, nostalgic, political, or totally strange. Show up with an idea, or just your curiosity.</p> <p><strong>Hosted by</strong>: War Streets Art Salon, 502 W. North Ave., Pittsburgh 15212<br /><strong>Details</strong>: <a href="https://tickets.warstreetsartsalon.com/events/warstreetsartsalon/2373226">Get tickets here</a></p> <h3 id="h-sept-26-10-a-m-1-p-m" class="wp-block-heading">Sept. 26 | 10 a.m.-1 p.m.</h3> <p><strong>Zine workshop</strong></p> <p>The McKeesport Community Newsroom and Pittsburgh Zine Fair will host a zine-making workshop at the McKeesport Library.</p> <p>Zines are handmade and self-published magazines and booklets that are directly distributed to the community. In addition to creating your own zine, participants will learn about Pittsburgh's long history of zine culture.</p> <p><strong>Details:</strong> The workshop is free and open to all ages, but registration is required. <a href="https://live-mckeesport.pantheonsite.io/event/zine-workshop-3438?utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAaearLTBzELWT84Dr-rgNoZFnem38IKcfUFPLyLCg7lCsRxrmkMsjja_DdtM5A_aem_cO36rv0ACpuBXDDcJESuOw">Register here.</a></p> <p><em>Watch for announcements in our newsletters and social media or <a href="mailto:halle@publicsource.org">reach out directly</a> to us for information or if you would like to host a workshop.</em></p> <h2 id="h-submit-your-zine" class="wp-block-heading">Submit your zine</h2> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Physical zines can be submitted:</strong> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>At participating workshops</li> <li>At MuseumLab, 6 Allegheny Square East, from 12-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays</li> <li>At Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, 10 Children's Way, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; leave your zine with staff at the admissions desk</li> <li>By mail to Public Source, 1936 5th Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Digital submissions:</strong> PDFs or photos of zines are also welcome. <a href="https://form.typeform.com/to/x9tRYQPK">Submit your zine using this form.</a> For larger files, upload it to Google Drive and share the link with <a href="mailto:info@publicsource.org">info@publicsource.org</a>. Set the link sharing so anyone can view the file.</li> <li>For all submissions, please include your name, neighborhood or municipality of residence, contact info and a short description of your zine.</li> </ul> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3P8A3847-2-scaled.jpg" alt="Handmade booklets and zines with colorful covers and handwritten titles are displayed on a wooden surface." class="wp-image-1335085" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo courtesy of Children's Museum of Pittsburgh/Giulia LaForgia)</figcaption></figure> <p>Physical zines selected for display may be kept for an extended period and may not be returned. Because this is an evolving exhibit, we cannot guarantee how long individual submissions will remain on display or be preserved.</p> <h2 id="h-what-happens-next" class="wp-block-heading">What happens next</h2> <p>Timeline:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>August-September 2026: Zine and storytelling workshops. Submit your zines!</li> <li>Sept. 30, 2026: Zine submission deadline.</li> <li>October 2026: Zines curated for public display and online publication.</li> <li>November 2026: Exhibit opens and select work published on <a href="http://publicsource.org">publicsource.org</a>.</li> <li>Early 2027: Exhibit travels to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, where community members can continue to browse the zines and submit their own.</li> </ul> <p>The exhibit will be interactive. Visitors will be able to browse zines, flip through them and make their own alongside the display. New zines may be added over time.</p> <h2 id="h-why-we-re-doing-this" class="wp-block-heading">Why we’re doing this</h2> <p>This project brings together creativity, journalism and community storytelling. By encouraging people to ask questions and share what they learn, we hope to spark curiosity, build empathy and highlight the people, places and experiences that shape life across the Pittsburgh region.&nbsp;</p> <h2 id="h-interested-in-partnering" class="wp-block-heading">Interested in partnering?</h2> <p>We are also looking to collaborate with educators, community centers, classrooms, youth organizations, artists, printmakers and community groups to help host workshops and spread the word. Please email <a href="mailto:halle@publicsource.org">halle@publicsource.org</a> if interested.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://www.publicsource.org/public-source-pittsburgh-neighborhood-zines/"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/zine-ad-v3.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1335094" /></a></figure> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/open-call-for-pittsburgh-zines/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1335073&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/open-call-for-pittsburgh-zines/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

Copy to Clipboard