DABF25 Talk | Cut and Paste: Community, Collaboration and Zine Festivals in Ireland Today

Zine festivals across Ireland are attracting a growing number of self-published artists, writers and activists, building accessible DIY platforms and important resources for zine making but how have these events transformed in recent years and what role do they currently play?

Join us for a roundtable discussion exploring some of the practical insights, perspectives and challenges of running zine festivals in Ireland today with a panel of organisers including Elize de Beer (Cork Zine Fest), Helen Gomez (Belfast Zine Fair), Caoilfhinn Geary (Limerick Zine Fest), and Rita Hynes (Drogheda Zine Fair).

Elize de Beer (she/her) is a South African visual artist, bookbinder and arts facilitator working in expanded print, sculpture and book arts. In her visual arts practice, she explores concerns and ideas around archiving, the hierarchies of knowledge, the land as a place of belonging and colonialism. She has been one of the co-producers of Cork Zine Fest since 2021 and within her zine-making practice she has used zines as medium to explore her artistic ideas, to share personal stories and day-to-day ponderings on the world, implementing writing, drawing and photography within her zines.

Helen Gomez (she/he) is from Donegal and has lived in Belfast for 11 years where they are now trying to make comics full time. He helps to run the Belfast Zine Fair and they've been making their own accredited and anonymous zines and comics regularly since about 2018, covering topics such as bisexuality, autofiction, disability and gentrification. He is one of the co-coordinators of the collaborative queer zine - Pegged - which had three issues so far, appearing in the 2021 Turner Prize. It now lives in the Ulster Museum archives, arguably having lost its status as a zine in the process, living out one the ephemeral qualities of zines that Helen loves to argue about.

Caoilfhinn Geary (she/her) is a visual artist based in Limerick, specialising in printmaking and book arts, with a passion for zine making and community building. Since graduating from Printmaking and Contemporary Practice at the Limerick School of Art and Design, 2023, Caoilfhinn has become an active member of the Limerick Printmakers where she facilitates kids’ art classes, zine and printmaking workshops. In 2024, she co-founded the Limerick Zine Fest with Tiffany Glenn and Daithí MacCruitín, an annual festival celebrating DIY-culture and independent publishing in Limerick City.

Rita Hynes (she/her) is a creative producer whose practice is informed by DIY publishing, socially engaged print culture and the bookshop as a curatorial space. She founded and co-runs the annual Drogheda Zine Fair with thirty-three.45 and curates The Underground Zine Archive’s collections and events. In June 2025, Rita launched the first iteration of an experimental bookshop project called Cailleach Books at The Kiosk Project Art Space.

Event location Information: This event will take place on the first floor accessible via lift and stairs. Seating will be theatre style. For further accessibility information please contact Learning + Public Engagement Curator Órla Goodwin.

Dublin Art Book Fair (4–14 December 2025) is a centre for contemporary artist books offering a wide selection of artist publications and titles from creative, small and independent publishers, both Irish or international, to browse or buy. In conjunction with the Fair, DABF presents an programme of book launches, publishers talks, and workshops, offering ways to engage and gain insight into contemporary independent and arts publishing.

DABF25 is proudly sponsored by Henry J Lyons and supported by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and RTÉ Supporting The Arts.