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A larger venue is giving Dunedin zinemakers extra space this year.
Ōtepoti Zinefest 2026 will run at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum for the first time from November 5 to November 7, with free entry to all events.
Dunedin Dream Brokerage helped organisers secure the South Dunedin site after the festival outgrew Yours Cafe, where it ran for the past three years.
Co-organiser Gini Jory said the DIY spirit of the museum suited zine culture and skill-sharing.
“I think it’s just really cool to have it in this new space,” Jory said.
She will lead a workshop introducing zines to beginners with simple tips such as how to make a zine out of folding a single sheet of paper or using items such as magazines to cut up to create collages.
“With those kind of workshops you organically find something as you’re going through the material,” she said.
“I think it makes it more fun because you end up with something a bit more unexpected in the end.”
Co-organiser Justina King discovered Zinefest during her first year studying design when a lecturer taught her class how to make zines.
“I thought it was so cool because it was really like an amalgamation of different creative technique
“You get to be a writer, you get to be a designer, you get to be an artist, and you can be really versatile in what you put in a zine,” King said.
She said the bigger venue would make the zine market day easier for about 30 stallholders and visitors.
“It’s nice for people to be able to go and access food and have some breathing room and not have to crawl under a table to get out,” she said.
Co-organiser Gavin Ashworth worked as a tour guide at the Gasworks Museum in the past and welcomed the move to the venue.
He first encountered zines as a teenager through Dunedin venues such as Arc Cafe before attending a zine festival at the former None project space on Stafford St, and has collected zines since then.
He will host a zinemakers panel, speaking to Bryce Galloway, author of Zines NZ — Punk to Present, former festival organiser Spencer Hall, Gini Jory and El Checketts.
“I want to know what motivates people to do it for such a long time or inspires them,” he said.
Ōtepoti Zinefest 2026
Dunedin Gasworks Museum
20 Braemar St, South Dunedin
Free entry
November 5: Zinemaking Workshop with Gini Jory, 5pm to 7pm
November 6: Zinemakers Panel: Creative Process from Different Perspectives, 6pm to 7pm
November 7: Zine Market Day, 10am to 5pm
— Supported by Dunedin Dream Brokerage