ROOT-ed Zine: Retrospect, Reality, Reform at The Tetley

Please note: The Tetley is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm. 

ROOT-ed Zine are taking over The Tetley for the brand new exhibition Retrospect, Reality, Reform, in an exploration of the socio-political, economic and environmental issues affecting people of colour in the contemporary context.

Founders Amber Akaunu and Fauziya Johnson created ROOT-ed (which stands for Revolution of our Time) in 2017 which comprises a magazine and social platform. Zine-making, with its DIY and community-focused ethos, turned out to be the perfect platform for amplifying the voices of artists of colour, from or based in the North West. Previous issues and ROOT-ed’s workshops have touched on topics such as ethnic hair, mental health and QTIPOC. The new show at The Tetley, with its unique perspectives, is another means of passing the microphone to the people whose voices we should all be hearing a lot more.

Four early-career artists have been commissioned to participate in the show, with an emphasis on the concepts of retrospect, reality and reform: filmmaker Yasmin Ali; comic artist and illustrator Hanna Gwynn; figurative painter Linnet Panashe Rubaya; and writer Simone Yasmin.

The concepts presented as focal points for the show leave a lot of space for the artists’ interpretations in a way that aligns with their own experiences. The recent years have brought to the fore the ongoing struggle of marginalised communities, many of which, of course, were not new. The show provides a space for more young voices to be heard through various mediums, from cartoons and films to spoken word. Through collaboration and by platforming and archiving the voices of creatives, ROOT-ed Zine has created an important process of documentation of the work of young Northern artists of colour, one which continues to evolve and reach even larger audiences.

As well as the work of artists on display, Retrospect, Reality, Reform also includes an invitation for other creatives to contribute to a zine that will be published shortly before the show ends, giving even more people the opportunity to present their art and respond to the work in the exhibition and the issues addressed. And, for any visitors who haven’t encountered ROOT-ed Zines before, they’ll be able to find a back catalogue dating back to 2018 in the reading room.