In 2019 Lu Williams was selected for our NPO artist commission in Basildon, delivering a new project that started this Spring, culminating in the launch of a collaborative community ‘Zine’ in November.

Lu Williams creates, self publishes, platforms and archives zines. Zines are an incredibly good way of documenting facts, stories and ‘feeling’. They can hold conversations, encourage collaboration, build and celebrate community, and emanate a personal warmth and a tactileness that a medium such as blogging often lacks.

For her commission, Lu hosted multiple zine workshops with a diverse range of Basildon residents, which artistically activated participants through writing, collage and drawing. Each workshop focused on recalling participants’ memories of the New Town: they have been talking about culture, society, New Town architecture and public sculptures across Basildon, as well as their own personal experiences and journeys.

Throughout the project, pages are being created for a collaborative zine, creating new community connections and a physical legacy of the place we live, work and retire. The project is culminating in an event to bring together those involved, taking place at Basildon library on Friday 29 November.

“I’m delighted to work with ECDP and Basildon Council on creating new, community driven public artworks to be displayed across the town. Through a series of zine making workshops I’ll be collecting stories and highlighting Basildon as place of experimentation, diversity and resilience. Zine making is an authentic way of representing culture and documenting the voices of those who’s stories have been forgotten. In an age of social media and fake news, people deserve authentic public art that represents and reflects them. I’m excited to get started!” Lu Williams

Here are some images from the workshops (on our Flickr image archive):

The intersections between Lu’s identities as a queer, working class women, Essex born and bred, have greatly informed the artist’s work and socially orientated practice. She founded Grrrl Zine Fair, comprised of live events, zine workshops, Grrrl In Print collective zine and a 300 publication strong feminist zine library which tours the UK. Grrrl Zine Fair platforms women, trans and non-binary artists, putting diversity and accessibility at the forefront of her artistic practice.

The commission will be supported by Basildon Borough Council, and The Foundation for Essex Arts, and will tie in with Basildon’s 70th anniversary celebrations.

basildon.gov.uk/basildon70

luwilliams.com | instagram.com/luwilliamsdotcom | twitter.com/luluannmay

grrrlzinefair.com | instagram.com/grrrlzinefair | twitter.com/grrrlzinefair | facebook.com/grrrlzinefair