After a year of Over Magazine being dormant due to the threats of covid-19, we slowly started putting together a new edition in the Summer of 2021. A residency awarded to our Founder/Editor-In-Chief Nate Bishara by The TX Studios led to this project finally coming to life.
What is YEARBOOK?
YEARBOOK is an annual publication that dissects certain aspects of being yourself through the lenses of different queer people. The 25 different LGBTQIA+ identifying people apart of this premier edition of the project were asked to think introspectively about specific aspects of themselves and to come to the studio with an object that is important to them and to wear an outfit that they feel comfortable in or that represents their day-to-day fashion choices. During the shoot I asked each participant about themselves, the object(s) they choose to bring with them as well as how and if they feel their individual identities/experiences have affected the things that are important to them.
The outcome of this project is a collection of over 400 photos and a series of interviews about identity, gender expression, love, community, self-acceptance, and many other tales some exclusive to the participant’s individual journey and some shared by LGBTQIA+ people all over the world. The answers I received while shooting and documenting this project were both varied and very personal. These stories and photos will be bound together in a zine titled ‘Yearbook: The Things We Love’ published under Over magazine in early 2022. I cannot wait to share the contents of YEARBOOK: The Things We Love.
This past December was the yearly resident gallery hosted by The TX Studios to highlight all of their creative residents. This was where some of the photos from this project were shown and when it was announced that YEARBOOK would be coming out in 2022.
Yesterday, the crowdfunding initiative was launched on Kickstarter for “YEARBOOK: The Things We Love”. Currently, It has a "Projects We Love" stamp from Kickstarter that was given to it for being such a well-put-together and inclusive project.
We've set up several reward tiers for people who donate to this project and see it come to life.
The base of most of the layouts for the Zine are already finished and the funding is going towards paying for needed licensing, the addition of personalized art and graphics to each page as well as making sure the zine is high-quality when printed.
We have 30 days to meet the $3,500 goal to receive funding from Kickstarter. Kickstart is an all-or-nothing funding platform and I believe we will be able to meet these goals.
Share or donate if possible, we would really appreciate it.
Thank you,
-Nate Bishara, Editor-In-Chief Over Magazine