alt.com.expo
alternative.communication.exposition
january 12 - 14, 1995
"What is it?"
The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) invites you to participate in a three-day symposium and convention we're planning called the alternative communication exposition (or, alt.com.expo). Our intent is to bring together practitioners of the many forms of self-publishing: people who make zines, internet electronic zines, self-published comic artists, small press publishers, cassette correspondents, etc., put them together for a weekend and see what happens. The convention is inspired by the boom in self-publishing currently taking place in the Pacific Northwest (and across the nation). As traditional media gets consolidated into huge, irrelevant, and often scary entertainment conglomerations, the alt.com.expo aids and abets those individuals who are no longer willing to be passive consumers of media. The aim of the alt.com.expo is to establish links between individuals communicating outside traditional forms, swap information and resources, expose the public to what's going on, and have fun.
"How does it work?"
Commerce The expo will take place the weekend of January 12 through 14, 1996. Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 6pm, our space will be lined with tables where you can display your zines, comix, or whatever you produce. Access to the internet will also be available to look at on-line e-zines. The public is invited to peruse the tables, talk to you, and buy your stuff. We have to rent tables so two publishers share a six foot table and get additional wall space for display.
Edification Panels and workshops will run concurrent to the convention on Saturday and Sunday, and are open to participants and the public. Learn your First Amendment rights and how to avoid felony prosecution. Find out why the telecommunications act should scare you silly. Reveal trade secrets to your comrades, learn how to increase distribution, get tips on publicity from masters of self-promotion. Is it time to go electronic and get your zine on-line? What does the future hold for self-publishing? How do we deal with the Disneyfication of zine culture? Our expert panel has been there, done that, and will argue with you about whats next.
Diversions Friday and Saturday evening features performers and bands related to the zine world. Confirmed so far are Vaginal Creme Davis from L.A., Miss Murgatroid from Portland, and Dame Darcy from New York. We'll have
Northwest bands and spoken word performers on the bill TBA. Thomas Frank of the Baffler will fly in from Chicago to give the keynote speech. And, hey, Seth Friedman of Factsheet Five is flying up from San Francisco to be the expo's Grand Poobah! All events are all-ages.
Costs It costs cheap! $15 dollars gets you a table reservation and access (for one) to all events, panels, workshops, and performances. (The alt.com.expo is intended for small self-publishers. If you're a bookstore, distributor, book publisher, or vendor, please contact us in advance.) Reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis. Well cram as many tables as we can into the space, but you should send back the enclosed form (with a check) as soon as possible. We must receive your participation fees and registration form by January 6 to hold you a table. If you're coming in from out of town, work those zine connections. Otherwise, we can recommend some cheap(er) hotels.
"What's this CoCA Anyway?"
The Center on Contemporary Art is a local non-profit artists' organization
dedicated to serving the Pacific Northwest as a regional forum for the advancement
and understanding of contemporary art. CoCA has been responsible for making adventurous
connections between music, performance, and the visual arts that have resulted
in lasting changes in the way this community looks at and defines contemporary
culture. You may have heard of some of the shows weve produced over the years--from
Einstürzende Neubauten at Myrtle Edwards Park to Misfit Lit; Kustom Kulture
to the Garden of Virtue and Vice--and a host of compelling and thought-provoking
exhibitions in between. CoCA is one of the very few established alternative spaces
north of San Francisco, and we hold a unique place in this regions constellation
of contemporary arts venues.
schedule of events
(subject to slight alterations)
Friday, January 12
8:00 - 9:00 p.m.
opening mixer for participants only
Come meet and greet your fellow comrades. Music, no-host bar, registration,
table assignments, name tags: a swingin singles scene. It'd be nice if Seth Friedman
gave a little talk about why were all here.
9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Bands & performances featuring:
Miss Murgatroid (Portland)
Vaginal Creme Davis (Los Angeles)
& local bands TBA.
Miss Murgatroid plays a mean and disturbing accordion. Dr. Davis, internationally
famous blacktress, videozine editor, and haute heavy-metal songbird performs vitriolic
anthems from her forthcoming release with PME, "The White to be Angry." (note
to Team Dresch: why won't you return my phone calls?)
Saturday, January 13 & Sunday, January 14
11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
convention
The meat of the exposition. Set up your tables, smile, meet your adoring
public & talk them into buying your products. You're on display! Panels and workshops
run concurrent with the convention, and take place in a separate room. Set-up
from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Break-down from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Your stuff can be stored
overnight at CoCA.
Saturday, January 13
12:00 p.m.
Keynote speech
Thomas Frank, Editor in Chief of The Baffler (Chicago) will speak about
the CultureTrust and scare the bejesus out of all of us. Just who is Henry Rollins
selling those computers to anyway?
1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
workshop: The XYZs of DIY publishing.
That's right--anybody can publish something. Take a look at the zine racks and
thats all too evident. This workshop is a rollicking open-forum discussion and
q & a on the how-tos, what-nots, and nuts & bolts of self-publishing. Learn: the
top ten favorite zine topics and how to avoid them; why Kinko's may not be your
best printing option; the secret computer tricks to give your zine that authentic
"DIY aesthetic"; who to suck up to to increase your distribution. Led by zinesters,
bookstore buyers, & small press publishers.
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
panel: censorship & First Amendment rights
Confirm your worst nightmares as free speech advocates bandy about scenarios for
the future. Know your rights for that day when the Thought Police come knockin'
on your door. Moderated by Steve Johnson (National Campaign for Freedom of Expression);
includes Kristina Hjelsand & Ira Stohl from the Newsstand in Bellingham, currently
under felony prosecution for "promoting pornography" for selling Jim & Debbie
Goads zine, Answer Me!
9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Musical and spoken word performances:
Dame Darcy (New York)
local bands & performers TBA
Dame Darcy plays a mean banjo and sings some songs. She'll be paired up with other
nice performance-oriented acts and spoken word performers and possibly a band.
Suggestions?
Sunday, January 14
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Internet workshop @ the Speakeasy Cafe
A quick stroll through fertile Belltown brings you to the Speakeasy Cafe, host
of the alt.com.expo's official internet workshop. Explore the flotsam and jetsam
of the web, get a basic how-to for going on-line, or meet other piercing and trenchant
electronic publishers like yourself. Anxious about using too much paper? This
is the place for you!
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Panel: Self-publishing comix
A panel discussion organized by the lovely Scott Faulkner with Dame Darcy and
a bevy of local comic artists (we're waiting for those confirmations, girls).
For comix aficionados as well as the uninitiated. Bring the whole family!
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Panel: The big picture & the road home.
As close to a celebrity panel as this exposition's gonna get. Seth Friedman (Factsheet
Five), Vaginal Creme Davis (Fertile La Toyah Jackson Videozine), Dame Darcy (Meatcake),
Thomas Frank (the Baffler), and special guests brainstorm the way into the future
of self-publishing. Add your two cents.
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
We love ya, now get outta here!
