IHRC Gallery is hosting Zine Mela 4 starting 15 October month until 16th December. Please find details of the exhibition and all related events below. Please use this booking cailities on this page for all the events.
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Launch Event
There is still time to register to attend the launch event on 14 October 2026 (Wednesday) from 6.30 pm – 9pm (GMT+1), if you live locally. It’s free to attend, but booking helps us with numbers. You will be able to peruse the exhibition, speak with the artist and curator Hamja Ahsan, who will be discussing Zine culture alongside other speakers, including Aki Nawaz. Light refreshments will be served.
If you are attending please RSVP using this link, or email events[AT]ihrc.org, as space is limited.
If you can’t attend, watch from anywhere in the world on our YouTube channel IHRCTv or on this page. We will also be streaming on Instagram here.
Visiting the exhibition during October through to 16 December
The exhibition is open from 15th October to 16th December, at the IHRC Gallery at 202 Preston Road, Wembley, HA9 8PA.
Admission to all events, except the workshops (see below) are free.
Exhibition opening hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 5pm (please note the venue closes at 6pm)
Please note that some of the Gallery Spaces are part of a functioning office, so it is a good idea to call us (02089044222) or email (info[AT]ihrc.org) us in advance if you are coming down Monday – Friday, so we can make sure the spaces are fully accessible for you.
Alternatively please drop by on a Saturday between 11am – 5pm (last Saturday for drop ins is 28 November).
Please see below for details of activities on Saturday afternoons during this period.
Saturday afternoons with Hamja
The curator of Zine Mela, artist Hamja Ahsan will be at the gallery every Saturday afternoon, and is available to talk you through the exhibition (if you so wish). He will also be running three workshops (also on Saturday afternoons). Please see below for details. Please note drop in may be limited on the workshop afternoons.
Prisoner Zine Panel
Hamja will be chairing and speaking at a panel on Priosner Zines, alongside speakers from the Free Satpal Ram campaign, Prisoner Fightback, and others.
Admission is free but please help us plan by booking in advance. The panel will be on the evening of Thursday 29 October 2026. Doors open at 6.30pm.
Workshops
Hamja will be running three workshops that involve Zine making and discussions around key social issues. Please register via the booking link. Participants must be aged 16 and over.
Entry is £12 early bird and £17 on the day, concessions £5 early bird and £9 on the day
Saturday 24th October Workshop 1
Citizen Coconut: a collaborative Zine workshop envisioning the Coconutistan Nation
The workshop will begin to look at the coconut trial and solidarity action
In mid-September 2024, heavily pregnant Marieha Hussain was acquitted on a racially aggravated public order offence for her placard at a pro-Palestine protest on 11th November 2023, which depicted then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman as coconuts. The investigating team for the prosecution were not able to find expert opinions to support their argument that the term ‘coconut’ was indeed a racial slur, and instead, were met with “quite a lengthy response” by Kehinde Andrews stating that the term could not constitute racism. Despite this, the case still went to trial, raising questions on issues surrounding the policing of black/brown political thought, the convolution of the application of anti-discrimination law to silence free speech, and the lack of protections for pregnant women in legal settings
Together we will imagine the fiction nation of Coconutistan – drawing on the fictional nation of Aspergistan in Hamja Ahsan book Shy Radicals.
What would be the Nation Anthem of the Coconutistan?
What would be the national ceremonies, army and constiution?
What would be the rights of asylum, border control?
Saturday 14th November
Workshop 2. A zine think-in
Colonial Crime cross-solidarity Famine Zine (Bengal 1943, Ireland 1847)
Starting the Sinead O’Connor collage – depicting cross-solidarity between the Bengal Famines of 1943 by Winston Churchill & 1847 Irish famine by Famine Federations collective the workshop will think about cross-solidarity of colonial crimes.
Whilst there exist over 100 public famine memorials for the Irish famine, there exist zero memorials for 31 colonial famines? We will look at art from Zainul Abedin depicting the Bengal famines.
Related and draws from IHRC Genocide Memorial Month archives
Look at Zine Mela collection of colonial resistance zines.
Saturday 5th December
Workshop 3. Fictional Fried Chicken
Creative Writing workshop & Collaborative Zine workshop
The workshop will look at how Fried chicken shop and diaspora restauranteurs have used their restaurants as Palestine Solidarity beacons. State repression at Fried chicken inside the Arab hubs of Germany.
Look at Hamja Ahsan collection of Fried Chicken Zines and food zines from Indonesia to England.
A walking observational trip to a local Chicken shop.
Relates and draws from IHRC Islamophobia conference memorial.
The workshop will result in a collaborative Zine & short creative writing micro-fiction.
