There’s still time to check out the 2021 Unibrow Arts Festival, a showcase of experimental comedy and DIY publishing, organized by Unibrow, a Vancouver based artist-run non-profit dedicated to the “weird”.

The fest, which runs until the end of this month, culminates with a virtual event on March 26th and 27th, featuring a TBA schedule here, including comedy shows, discussions, and the debut of a collaborative video with local printer/publisher Moniker Press, documenting zine-makers doing their things. (Submissions for the latter are open to the public until Saturday, March 20th. Find out more here.)

Leading up to the two-day event, the Unibrow Arts Festival’s cyber art gallery and shoppable online zine market has been ‘open’ to the public since March 5th. The market is stocked with zines and art by 27 of the more-than-30 participating artists. After a thorough browse, we came up with a frugal list of five items we definitely want in our collection…

Blind Spot Observation by Shizuka Yoshimura
For the grounded wanderlust-er: an 80-page booklet of photos of nature, taken in various locations around the world, to meditate on and dream over…Also available as collections of 18 postcards here.

Friends & Food: Stories Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by Friends & Food (Joslin Chan, Roberta Chang and Sylvia Chan)
For the food-lover, written and illustrated by three fellow food-lovers: a comic series following the adventures of a cast of anthropomorphized favourite foods, through various deliciously imaginative locations, like ‘Hot Pot Springs’. Pure glee!

Things Men Say to Me at Work by Eva Dominelli
Depicted in her signature lyrical style, a beautifully illustrated documentation of the author’s experience with workplace harassment, while being employed as a construction worker in Vancouver.

How to Eat Awkwardly by Wendi Ma
Not a zine, but Wendi Ma’s whimsical illustrations of “everyday mundane happiness” – like this sketch of a young woman impossibly bent over a big bowl of soup – definitely inspire a smile.

Foods that Mend my Identity by tiredbabi
A personal account of food and identity, by a local artist advocating for tiredness, and all its underrated and revolutionary abilities.