Zine Exhibition Statement

The Re•Storying Autism Collective is a group of Autistic artists, makers, researchers, students, and critical allies. We gather online to cultivate Autistic community, create activist art, and co-research on the Re•Storying Autism project. The Collective challenges the dominant biomedical view of Autism as a disorder, and of Autistic lives as hopeless. 

In the early days of COVID-19, the Collective held an eight-week virtual workshop on digital zine-making. This initiative was fueled by a desire to resist the isolation within a chaotic pandemic world, and to imagine Autistic futures where historically silenced neurodivergent voices re-shape the world in radically affirming ways.

Autistic participants from across Canada gathered online to share their experiences. Autistic facilitators from the Collective contributed to a supportive, accessible, creative incubator environment that helped participants bring their stories to life. Critical ally and artist Tara Bursey worked with each maker to translate their digital zines into print.  

The zines and images are presented within a textile installation made by Kat Singer. The spectrum of bright colors celebrates Autistic joy and resilience. The meticulously crafted “sensory strings” represent divergent thinking, creativity, and the interconnectedness of all beings and things.