 are back for another zine & music fair at 

 Saturday Sep 12th + Sunday Sep 13th from 10am-6pm with zine & music exhibitors from the SD-Baja California region and beyond. Join us in celebrating the intersection of independent publishing, zine-making, music, and DIY culture. 

COMPRESSED | About Us

The Athenaeum Art Center (AAC) is a vibrant and expansive art space boasting over 5,000 square feet of creativity. Our print studio is unmatched in San Diego, featuring 10 presses and over 300 cases of type, including an Asbern AD-1 proof press, Asbern Adretta-prototype proof press, 19th century Columbian and Imperial platen presses, Ettan etching presses, Griffin etching press, Vandercook tabletop proof press, Nolan tabletop proof press, and a small tabletop platen press. We offer weekly Open Print studio time to the public for printmakers of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced, thanks in part to the Prebys Foundation and Dr. Edward Petko.

Curator and archivist Alejandra Frank arranges the edges of sound and space inspired by photography as the fundament. That play of light and dark, and the spectral image arrives in its time. She is the founder of Teros Gallery and Magazine, co-runner of Phorm (art residency based in North Park), and most recently, curated Adolfo Riestra’s (1944-1989) work at his studio in Mexico City that is currently on view by appointment.

Alita la Brujita is a tarot reader, astrologer, and educator who has been practicing since 2017. Rooted in the transformative power of self-exploration, Alita uses tarot and astrology as tools for personal insight, healing, and self-actualization. Through readings, workshops, and handmade zines, she invites others to connect with their intuition and navigate their inner landscapes with clarity and courage.
Based between San Diego, Chicago, and Guadalajara, Alita offers one-on-one readings and teaches tarot and astrology in accessible, community-centered spaces. Her work blends mystical tradition with a grounded, reflective approach—empowering clients and students alike to uncover meaning and agency in their lives.
Whether through a natal chart, a tarot spread, or a page in a zine, Alita la Brujita is here to help you tap into your own magic.

Algún Resentimiento Desconocido al Odio (A.R.D.O.)
is an editorial project and design studio founded in Los Angeles by Eduardo Soto. 
Rooted in both fine art and Autonomous Philosophy, Eduardo’s work explores manifestation through imagery drawn from introspective practices, spiritual iconography, and religion. They examine how practices like prayer and meditation can challenge colonial narratives around spirituality. By embedding these images onto objects and within spaces that will outlast them, the work carries both personal and communal power. The processes of documenting, printing, and self-distributing these bodies of work serve as physical meditations for the public.

Bread & Roses Press is a distro and publishing house based in Lawrence, Kansas and Bristol, England. Often partnering with Justin Pearson's Three One G, we publish books and zines by authors from across the global and distro many small press publishers and authors. 

Itza Vilaboy is a writer from San Diego. She has a weekly radio program called CARTAS EK-STATIKAS on KNSJ 89.1 FM where she selects vinyl and invites artists, writers, and musicians to join in and play records and chat together. Her writing has appeared in AZTLAN: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Poet-Librarians in the Library of Babel: Innovative Meditations on Librarianship, and other art and literary publications, including a chapter in Borders & Belonging: Critical examinations of LIS approaches toward immigrants. She is currently finishing her novel, Diamond Girls, translating three books by Rafa Saavedra, and working on a cookbook for her family. She collects books, too. 

Cat Cods focuses on street art in Southern California and explores the myths and identities surrounding cats throughout history. They utilize a variety of techniques, including illustration, printing, stenciling, glue, photography, painting, sewing, and graphic design.

Flor Hernandez Zarate is a Zapotec writer, organizer, and creative living on unceded Kumeyaay lands. Her art takes several forms through poetry, prose, zines, and collage. Growing up away from her ancestral lands, she is interested in preserving the stories and traditions of her family and her community. She seeks to address Indigenous resistance, feminism, and futurity in hopes to create a world that is safe for all peoples.  

Cherub Dream Records is an independent record label based in Oakland, Californina. they're a queer and poc led, and have an affinity for alternative sounds ranging from noisy to ethereal, sometimes at the same time. Cherub Dream embodies a punk ethos, and a Do-it-Together attitude! 

Color Me In Press is an SF/Bay Area printing press ran by Noa Soriano, where they create collaborative print projects and zines with local artists and friends. Noa is a comic illustrator and ceramicist based in San Francisco.

Current Editions celebrates micro histories, niche artifacts, and public discourse. An artist-run press formed by Jessalyn Aaland and Paul Morgan in 2017, we research, design, and publish assorted ephemera. For fans of: vernacular, curiosity, information architecture.

Cynta draws a lot of fictional memoirs/comics based on their life growing up as a nonbinary muslim Malay person. Most of their work is influenced by his Malaysian culture/heritage, growing up aggressively Southeast Asian, and their deep love for cosmic horror mixed with a touch of sci-fi. They are also currently working on comics that focus on his alien immigrant status in the United States, living in small odd spaces in San Francisco, and general writings about the international student experience. Cynta’s current breath of work focuses on their life growing up in Malaysia and going to an all girls school, a mostly close to truth exaggerated memoir based on being in the closet and having a giant secret from everyone else. 

Dark Entries was launched in 2009 to release out of print and unreleased underground electronic and post punk music from the 70s/80s/90s as well as contemporary bands referencing those sounds. A project of Josh Cheon, a vinyl-focused DJ and collector,  Dark Entries takes great care in preserving audio fidelity and respects the aesthetics of  its artists. All of their releases are inspired by the DIY nature of independent record labels. Our designer Eloise Leigh is responsible for all reproductions and original concepts. Dark Entries entrusts all of their projects with the best engineer in the state, George Horn at Fantasy Studios, who remasters each release using his 50+ years  of knowledge in the industry. With over 100 releases under their belt from Severed Heads, Crash Course In Science, Patrick Cowley to the Dark Entries Editions series focusing on hard to find Italo Disco and Synthpop 12”s. 

zines and ephemera with thoughts from my head

group of creatives making cool projects about queer topics, music, and anything we desire

protest drumline, zine distro, and mutual aid collective of queers and dissidents passing out free literature, tools, and propaganda from an anti-authoritarian, de-colonial perspective. 

Ediciones Caradura is an editorial and art collective based in Tijuana, Mexico. We've published fanzines, photobooks, artist books, and organized a handful of art exhibitions. Our editorial and artistic practices are deeply connected to our political and border context. We currently run a space that works as a gallery, Risograph studio, café, and cultural space where we also sell zines and independent publishing.

Editorial artesanal independiente: edición, traducción y diseño. Tijuana-San Diego

Errant Press is an independent effort to create, print, and distribute books that challenge the traditional form and reading dynamics. It's run by Mexican artists Alan Sobrino (Mexico City, 1986) and Tania Chaidez Ibarra (Culiacan, Mexico, 1991), based in Los Angeles, CA.

EVERYTHING IS SO MUCH is a feeling and a means. A sometimes press exploring various print methods and physical forms.

songs, demos, and snippets recorded in my room 

Andrea is a passionate zinester, and has been creating zines since before she knew what they were. She loves to create mini zines and add extra elements such as pull tabs, pop-ups, and interactive elements. She also enjoys creating zines about her cats, Cleo and Eva, her personal experiences (perzines), and her favorite media.

Folk Arts Rare Records is a San Diego music institution and one of the oldest record stores in California. The business was started by Lou Curtiss, a festival organizer, cultural preserver, and local luminary. Lou brought innumerable legendary musicians to perform in the San Diego area, to the delight of music aficionados. These included Tommy Jarrell, Lydia Mendoza, Bukka White, Dennis McGee, Rose Maddox, Bill Monroe, and hundreds of others. Music icons like Tom Waits, Sam Chatmon, and the underrated local bluesman Thomas Shaw performed in the store.

Friends of the Filipino People Struggle Bagani is dedicated to fighting against Fascism and Imperialism for national democracy im the Philippines! We are a collective of youth that focuses on addressing the international struggles of peasant movements abroad just as much as our migrant working class in the belly of the beast. Our work is meant to educate the masses, fight against the ruling class, and build unity for international solidarity.

Music vendors and content creators / We help you find your next vinyl / Real colectionists based in TJ

Community arts store located in University Heights. The goal is to help local artist and build community work shops. 

JELLi is a magazine for trinket lovers made by trinket lovers! our second issue "PARADiSE: Comfort in Creating a Home" features nostalgic mixed media works that explore the multifaceted meaning of a safe space and how it is shaped by our personal & unique experiences <3 this issue also features a DIY-aspect that delves into the art of crafts and how our crafts reflect the expansive realms of our inner minds. Dion Celebrado is an illustrator/comic zine maker who explores 3d modeling in Blender and also risograph printing, is a featured illustrator/comic artist and writer for JELLi.

julie choo is a diarist experimenting with personal, research-based publishing. they work across video poetry, lo-fi print, collage, archives, and all things bootleg, pirated, + diy. 

Laurie Piña is a writer, cartoonist, and DJ from San Diego. She also hosts Rare Charm, a monthly radio show on @particlefm exploring unique concepts and narratives across a variety of styles, genres, and texts. 

Aaron Pretty is a designer/illustrator and vinyl collector from San Diego. 

Together they host Soap, a night dedicated to showcasing electronica, chill-out, lounge, and dance deep cuts and classics from the turn of the millennium to the present.

M-Theory Music is San Diego’s premiere record shop. We’re family owned and located on the corner of Goldfinch and West Washington, right in the heart of Mission Hills. Oh, by the way, we’re a bunch of record fanatics and absolutely love music! So whether you’re a seasoned vet or just getting into record collecting, come and hang out with us at the shop, we love to meet our neighbors and fellow music lovers!

Mariposa Records an Independent Record Label created by artist Princesa.

Hi! My name is Marlo. I'm an artist and illustrator who also likes to animate and write from time to time. My work is heavily inspired by the old science and speculative fiction I read and the existential perils of being a young woman. 

I am an artist & designer who creates work related to the queer experience in screenprint and riso form. 

Martian Press is a Los Angeles-based Risograph press founded and operated by Stephanie Lane Gage. MP publishes artwork and writing with a thematic focus in queerness, speculative fiction, and utopianism.

San Diego based label with a focus on the cultivation and distribution of momentary music.
An imprint of Burn All Books

Meta Flop is a creative collective of artists, designers, and academics based in Oklahoma City, OK.

The Collective takes its cues from hip-hop, underground comics, skateboarding, and is influenced by many different cultures and sub-cultures. Issues in these zines are often socially relevant and satirical in nature.

Ocean Escalanti is an indigenous visual artist and writer currently residing in Oakland, CA. She self publishes works on natural dye how-to, urban foraging, illustration, and poetry.  Ocean monitors at Max's Garage Press in Berkeley with a focus in risograph and screenprint.

Paloma Mercier is a franco-mexican artist and educator from San Diego, CA. 

perra press is a DIY-publishing project run by multidisciplinary, California-Colombian artist Carolina Hicks.

Poppy Press is a small print and publishing studio that focuses on creating screen printed editions. I am a printmaker specializing in serigraphy, with a focus on technical craft and collaborative practice. Through working with other artists, I explore the balance between precision, experimentation, and the unique qualities each print process offers.

Project PAINT creates collaborative projects, facilitates multidisciplinary visual arts workshops, provides informative lectures, organizes public art events, and imagines creative possibilities with people who are incarcerated at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, and California State Prison- Centinela in Imperial, California.

Quint Gallery shows a wide variety of artists, bringing a much richer sampling of contemporary art to San Diego. Visit us in La Jolla or Logan Heights.

Radical History Club is an illustrated history zine that unsettles capitalist, colonizer and anti-Black narratives of U.S. history.

Hey, we're the Sea Sluggers Collective! We make zines, art prints, stickers, stationery, and more. Our art reflects our shared interests in risography, our original characters, video games, fashion, aquatic life, and queerness (specifically being trans and/or butch)!

We've all been friends for several years and have always liked to share our art with each other, so we thought it would be fun to share our stuff with others and get to know more artists throughout socal and beyond.

Cassette tapes for those who wish endlessly for what's precious.

Philip Brun Del Re (he/him) is an artist, designer, and arts facilitator based in San Diego, California. Primarily, his visual artworks are a dialog with found objects, images, and texts. Brun Del Re’s practice questions ubiquitous source materials and co-opts hegemonic forms of communication. 

Spirit School Press is a small-scale design, publishing, and distribution platform that focuses primarily on zines, art books, and creative formatting as a way to story-share works of individual journeys toward flourishing, liberation, and Becoming.

Taller California is a small press & printing workshop located in the San Diego-Tijuana region. It publishes vibrant artist books that engage with the border as a sociopolitical place and as a liminal and creative space. It is committed to hybrid forms and multilingualism. Taller California’s collaborative and experimental ethos creates new modes of production and distribution of printed matter and books.

San Diego’s official art rag, the exploded gallery, a free open submission monthly newsprint. 

TIGER MILF is a zine and screenprint distro run by artist Katja Zimmer with prints and writing on queerness, militarization, and Asian Californian culture. Started in San Diego in 2021, TIGER MILF runs on the principle of radical silliness to confront the continued violence of empire

Located in historic South Park, Trash Lamb is one of San Diego's best hidden gems.  This woman-owned, artist-run art gallery and unconventionally curated gift shop features local, national and international artists who work in a wide-variety of mediums and styles.  You can always expect the unexpect

Two Rooms is an artist-run gallery and project space founded by Lizzie Zelter in January 2023. Two Rooms works with artists engaged in contemporary practices in the San Diego / Tijuana bi-national region dedicated to experimentation, critical thinking, and the creative process.

Urbano Mata is a cartoonist whose work is characterized by a loose, gritty, informal, and playful style. With a critical and uninhibited eye, he explores everyday life through a freehand approach that blends humor, sharpness, and social reflection.

Yessi is a multidisciplinary artist and musician currently based in Los Angeles. Her expansive practice in sound encompasses DJing, production, live electronic sets, site-specific installation, film scoring, and field recording.  Her open format approach to DJing weaves together sonic references from her Colombian heritage and experiences as an organizer within DIY queer nightlife scenes across the US. Her style behind the booth is playful, unpredictable, and always risk-taking, balancing her freakish and cryptic sonic tendencies with deep reverence for the context of each crowd she encounters.  Her knack for storytelling with a palette of dissonant sounds, textures, rhythms, and tempos has led her to be featured in events and spaces such as Honcho Campout,  Hot Mass, and the Warhol Museum.

ZZ and jmo corleone are frequent collaborators, co-producing records, curating shows, and continuously exploring new musical concepts and formats together. Their projects cover a wide range of genres and styles, from ambient and experimental to ghetto tech and electro. As a duo, they've performed sets for The Lot Radio, Vitamin1k, Company Records, Extasis Crydance, and Notes of Moss on HydeFM.

About

Last Year's Exhibitors

AAC Gallery

Alejandra Frank

Alita La Brujita

Ardo

Bread & Roses Press

Carta

CAT GODS

Cempazuchitl’s Library

Cherub Dream Records

Color Me In Press

Current Editions

Cynta Camilia / J4lly

Dark Entries

d.flah

Digital Milk Co.

direct action distro

Dispatch from Paradise

Ediciones Caradura

Editorial Halfbreed

Errant Press

EVERYTHING IS SO MUCH

Familiar Face

Ferragottiart

Folk Arts Rare Records

Friends of the Filipino People Struggle Bagani

Gizmo Records

Hi-Fi Arts Co.

JELLi Magazine Issue #2

julie choo

Laurie Piña & Aaron Pretty

M-Theory Music

Mariposa Records

Marlo Reyes

Marmologies

Martian Press

Matraca

META FLOP

Ocean Escalanti / OLDISTHEGRAVE

Paloma Mercier

perra press

Poppy Press

Project Paint

Quint Gallery

Radical History Club

Sea Sluggers Collective

Sensitive

Slim Chili

Spirit School

Taller California

The Perfect Healthy

TIGER MILF

Trash Lamb

Two Rooms

Urbano Mata

Vince Pokes

Yessi

ZZ & jmo corleone