Co:Lab Zine Binds Diverse UK-Based Artists Together



Co:Lab Zine is an extension of the Co:Lab exhibition organised by Creative Opps in collaboration with Art Against Knives that hosts 24 artworks by 24 UK-based emerging artists from around the world. This first limited-edition issue contains responses from diverse voices around creativity, inclusivity and access in the arts, with many of the contributors being in print for the very first time. 

Role: Designer, Editor, Curator
Client: Creative Opps & Art Against Knives
Year: 2026
Artists: Jennifer Hines, Kelsey Taylor, Jacqueline Williams, Fereshteh Nourmahnad, Ezra Pearse, Peng-Hsiu Chen, Maeda Imbisat, Will Harwood-Hughes, Iona Macleod, Rue Webster, Julita Ziara, Sasha Weatherill, Rowena Griffiths, Amina Ben-Ismail, Freddie Fletcher, Olga Sorokina, Miggy Baker, Kate Jacko, Maddie Tichborne, Shivangi Bajpai, Lauren Hollie, Pamela Gomes, Frankie Baxter, Chinyere Amadi-Kamalu
Printing: Formatte (Bristol)





Challenge: Create a design-focused exhibit that responds to Co:Lab’s themes of inclusivity, creativity and access in the arts.

Opportunity: Elevate the zine to art level by creating a bespoke, limited-edition series of prints made completely by hand. 

Covers are screen printed using custom-mixed paint in thick, perfectly aligned layers that give the type an embossed effect. Inner pages are printed using Riso, common in zine production, on heavyweight art paper. 

Each zine is folded, bound and trimmed by hand.







On March 20th, Creative Opps youth members took over Art Against Knives’ space in London to host the collaborative exhibition Co:Lab. 

With works from eight artists on display, Co:Lab Zine acted as an extension of the exhibition’s mission to bring more inclusivity and access to the arts. The zine, a medium known for making voices of people on the fringes be heard, mirrored that intent and proved that creativity can come from anywhere. 

Through the power of editorial design and self-publishing, 24 UK-based artists from around the world had their work in print and part of a public exhibition for the first time. 

And the public responded: all 50 limited-edition zines found their homes.


All proceeds from selling the zines went towards re-printing more issues to send to contributors who couldn’t make it down to the exhibition.







© Mina Popa 2025-2026