Paper Boats: Stories of Protests told by Five Artists from Five Places, an anthology zine

This is an anthology zine published in 2020, collecting accounts from artists across different countries or cities during 2019’s wave of global protests. I asked each contributor the same four questions about their identity, local political situation, memorable protest moments, and hopes for justice.

The stories that emerged revealed striking contrasts in how people experience political upheaval. Jay from Macao described a community worn down by dependence on China – people who had essentially stopped believing they had a voice. Kevin’s account from Puerto Rico told the opposite story: protesters who actually succeeded in forcing their governor to resign. Leopius and Nadine both grappled with the migrant experience: Leopius watching Hong Kong’s democracy movement from Taiwan where she was studying, Nadine from Venezuela constantly navigating questions about her right to belong in the world. Jorge’s contribution from Honduras was perhaps the most sobering: his realistic take on how political change often amounts to shuffling the same problems between the same hands.

Through this zine I hoped to capture something personal yet complex about what it feels like to live through political crises. It became a small record of hope and exhaustion, like delicate paper boats carrying messages to anyone who happened to pick them up.