Maria Fong An assortment of zines by Maria Fong, an expected vendor at Saturday’s Somerville Zine Fest.

Excitement for zines – self-published, DIY magazines – has been rising for the past few years, including a 2023 Brooklyn Museum exhibition . Since the Take a Zine, Leave a Zine project started in 2020, it’s installed at least a dozen stands throughout Massachusetts.

While those are a welcome celebration of the culture, events are where real community forms. On Saturday, the Somerville Zine Fest takes over the Boston Figure Art Center for a day.

The fest is organized by Emrys Schweber and Joy Bedford, two recent Tufts School of the Museum of Fine Arts alumni who form part of The Pearl House artist collective . The pair were inspired by experiences selling their own work at

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