ABOUT
The Cross City Line carries the people of the West Midlands on millions of train journeys every year between Lichfield in the North and Redditch in the South. Across 32 miles and 3 counties, the places that host its stations vary in size, demographic, and range from some of the most deprived to the most affluent areas in the country. Some are nestled in green countryside and others are heavily industrial. Weaving through motorways and canals, it connects homes with offices, universities, parks, industrial estates and shopping centres.
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The Cross City Line is more than a transport corridor. It brings together the thousands of people who use it and the 24 places it connects.
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CROSS CITY ZINE compiles work from artists who live and work in the different locations along the train line. Independently published, the zine is redistributed back into trains and platforms, surreptitiously left for passengers to find and read during their journeys.
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CROSS CITY ZINE aims to distribute artwork and create a platform for discovering and showcasing artists. The zine taps into the potential of the train line as a space where an audience of passengers can encounter contemporary art in an unexpected setting.
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The artists featured in the first issue were invited to submit work through an open call for submissions. They include current BA and MA students, recent graduates, and professionally practicing artists working across performance, film, photography, illustration, printmaking, sculpture, digital, poetry and spoken word.
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CROSS CITY ZINE has worked with artist-led printing and bookbinding workshop The Holodeck to produce 200 two-colour risograph printed copies of the first issue. Its publication has been funded by the generous supporters of our Crowdfunder campaign.
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The first issue of CROSS CITY ZINE was produced and distributed in 2017.
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About Us
CROSS CITY ZINE has been imagined by Katharine Wade and Katie Stafford.
Both studied Fine Art in Birmingham and have worked alongside each other in several of Birmingham’s contemporary art organisations and projects.
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Neither are native to Birmingham but both have made a life for themselves living in different places along the Cross City Line.
Creating a platform for showcasing artists through the distribution of an independent zine.
