Tahoma West’s upcoming Autumn Zine wants to share student’s art
Tahoma West is trying something new this year to get more student works out there.
By Blake Latta
Tahoma West, the UW Tacoma yearly student creativity showcase, is trying something new this year. In the past, Tahoma West has accepted and chosen student art submissions for one large, single issue to showcase different pieces that students have made for that school year. This year, they are going to be releasing a quarterly zine in addition to the yearly showcase.
If you are an artist in any media, Tahoma Wests wants to see your work and share it with others. “We accept all kinds of art, from visual art to poetry. Fiction, creative non-fiction, and multi-media. We’ve even gotten video games.” Madison Gosselin said, Co-Editor-In-Chief of Tahoma West.
Tahoma West isn’t only for art students. Gosselin and the second Co-Editor-In-Chief of Tahoma West, Jaelyn Severino, want every major and discipline to get involved if they have something cool to share. “We’re not just the literary arts journal, we’re the multi-media arts journal, or the creativity journal.”
This new zine will be a little smaller than the yearly issue, but with the three total publications planned in addition to the yearly issue, the hope is to showcase even more students’ artistic talents than they could before.
“Think of this (yearly issue of Tahoma West) as a full-sized candy bar, and the zine is kind of like a fun sized.” Severino said. The regular Tahoma West full issue can have anywhere from 20 to 40 different submissions featured. This upcoming zine will feature 10 to 15 submissions, and the goal is to keep each following zine around the same size as well. “This is our test-drive. It might look a little different in future quarters, but I think this is a good place for us to start.” Gosselin said.
In terms of theming and the general concept for this new zine, there isn’t one for the autumn quarter. “We’re trying to keep it light-hearted and simple since it’s kind of our test-run,” Gosselin said. However, if you have a longer piece you wish to submit, they suggest that you submit it to the regular, full issue.
If you want to submit something but think that your piece will be buried and not have a fair chance, think again. Every single submission is seen and chosen by hand. Last year, Tahoma West received around 250 submissions for issue 30.
“We went through every single one,” Gosselin said. Not only do they see every piece, it is also anonymous. Names are removed during the selection process and then revealed in order to contact the students if they are selected.
Even if you think your art might not be perfect, Tahoma West still wants to see it. “Please, just send us something.” Severino said. They want to see what students are making and even try to react to what they are seeing. “Maybe we can do themes, or challenges or something interactive…” Severino said. Both Gosselin and Severino want to see what students submit and how they can involve them in what the Zine can become. “We want it all.” Said Gosselin.
The Autumn Zine submissions are taken on Dubnet, as is their regular full-issue submissions, or they are taken via email tahomaw@uw.edu.
The submission deadline for the Autumn Zine is Nov. 6, with a publishing date of Nov. 13.
