King County Archives (KCA) worked on a number of wonderful projects this year such as processing councilmember papers, conducting a telephone survey to better serve the public, and creating a disaster recovery plan, but our favorite highlight was the zine-making workshop held during American Archives Month (October 2025). The workshop built off Washington State’s theme for Archives Month, “Express Yourself.” It offered a personalized outlet for the public to express themselves through government records.
American Archives Month is a celebration of archives in the United States every October. Repositories across the country host events, instructional sessions, and conduct tours, educating the public on the purpose and importance of archives in their community. Government archives provide transparency, document the work of public servants, and serve as evidence of public projects.
KCA partnered with local non-profit 206 Zulu and Seattle Municipal Archives (SMA) to host a zine-making workshop on October 30 to celebrate Archives Month. Zines are self-published booklets mixing text, images, and incorporate personalized messages, often containing social justice themes. KCA and SMA contributed paper, colored pens, tape, glue sticks, stickers, and stencils, as well as copies of amazing government records. 206 Zulu generously hosted the event in Washington Hall, an historic venue in the Central District. The event began with a brief tutorial on how to make a zine, then participants, including students from the University of Washington’s Law, Societies and Justice program, chose from the zine-making supplies to make their own zine.
Archives staff Karisa O’Hara, Danielle Coyle, Shaye Anis, and Hannah Soukup, along with SMA Reference Archivist Jeanie Fisher, assisted participants, helping them select the right tools, fold their zines, and find the right images and text to express their theme. For many of the zine-makers, this was their first time interacting with archival government records. Staff emphasized the vital role archives play in the community by preserving collective memory and stewarding transparency within government.
The activity was part of KCA’s American Archives Month programming, and our ongoing effort to connect members of the public outside the Archives. Participants cut, tore and wrote on duplicates of historical government records in artistic, expressive and unique ways. Zine makers were able to tie in themes of democracy, transit, sense of place and even Halloween into their creations, all while listening to smooth jazz in the Washington Hall ballroom.
The zine activity connected KCA with members of the public who otherwise may not be interested in government records, expanding the reach of archives to artists and zine-makers. It definitely tops the list of our favorite archival activities for 2025. Because participants loved it so much, we’ll be offering the workshop again in 2026. Stay tuned!
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