It was a year ago today that I first e-mailed Julia with the words ‘Yeah. Let’s form a band.’ We Are Words + Pictures have achieved a lot since then. We’ve taken our comics from London to Leeds, Stockholm, New York and San Diego, and have gone through several printings of work that, frankly, might not have existed had Sarah, Julia and I not inspired or bullied one another into creating it.

But our interests have started to change a little bit. As we became increasingly invested in our solo-projects, collaborating on comics became more of a sideline. Besides which, We Are Words + Pictures has always been an obscure concept. That’s at least partly deliberate: we always liked the idea that we could shift gears from time to time, keeping some vague identity alive at the core of it.

In the last twelve months of moving in the UK’s alternative press culture, something has become apparent. Fewer new faces are showing up at events, and potential audiences are being left in the cold unaware of the beautiful work being produced by the many and varied talents we see on a monthly basis. This warm, vibrant community needs regular outlets to reach out to the general public, to stop courting an ‘underground’ cache and enjoy the light of day.

To that end We Are Words + Pictures is transforming.

At the end of September we will be hosting a market stall, exhibiting artwork, ‘zines and comics by a host of familiar and unfamiliar names, hoping to reach out to the record-buying, curry-eating, vintage-shopping public. Our emphasis will be on works that make the most of their printed, physical form, publications that simply wouldn’t be the same if they were hosted online. If it’s successful then it will be the first in a long line of such stalls popping-up outside of small-press fairs, presenting brand new work to a brand new audience at established markets, music festivals, village fairs and schools. We’re looking for new work and ‘zines to sell and exhibit, so please check out the Submissions section for details.

Meanwhile we’ll be using this blog to promote work that makes the most of digital distribution, by friends or strangers, as well as flagging up events we find interesting or that we’ll be attending. We’ll also be attending all of the same small press fairs we exhibited at in the last year, looking for new work, new ideas and new friends. After all – we love you guys.

We hope you’ll keep an eye on what happens next.

Matthew

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