If you're looking for new writing, comics and art that are both figuratively and literally underground, you can't go past Sticky Institute. Situated in Degraves Subway, just under Flinders Street, Sticky is a hive of activity, where zine-makers, badge-makers and other creative types can create and stock their work.
A zine is an independent, usually hand-made publication, generally photocopied cheaply and stapled together into a booklet. Zines can be about anything: punk, art, librarians, feminism, fictional characters, comics and landscape gardening are some of the topics of the zines I have encountered at Sticky.
It's great to pop into the Institute on a Saturday afternoon, to browse the plethora of unusual and hilarious titles, make some badges, use the Institute's typewriters or do some photocopying and make a zine of your own. Most zines cost between $1 and $5, making this a very affordable outing.
Even if you can't make it in to the Institute, you can still share in the endless celebration that is zine culture, as Sticky operates a mail order service, found at
maildept.stickyinstitute.com/
Sticky Institute is open from 12-6pm on Wednesday to Friday, and 12-5pm on Saturday. It can be found in Degraves Subway (enter through Degraves Street or Flinders Street Railway Station), or online at
www.stickyinstitute.com
