Print Isnt Dead, Its Decolonised: Inside Sas Emerging Zine Scene

At a time when the public sector is faltering and the media landscape is in flux, the role of print culture in the South African story becomes crucial.

Zines despite the slow and agonising death of the traditional publishing industry are seeing a resurgence, driven by Gen Zs desire for authentic representation in an age of alienating automation and algorithmic annihilation.

By 2050, one in four humans will be African , a demographic shift that illuminates the potential of forms of youth-driven creative expression, such as zines, to influence cultural and political landscapes.

The three collectives featured in this article Afro Chronicles, Aimed Consciousness and Can I Tell You A Secret? emerged from Dr Rangoato Hlasanes Drawing and Contemporary Practice course at the Wits School of Arts last year.

Hlasane, born in Polokwane in 1981, is an artist, educator and co-founder of the Keleketla! Library , who earned his PhD with a thesis titled Kwaitoscapes: Reading the Historiographic Narratives in the Visual Cultures of Black Youth.