The Window

I wanted to share with you the inspiration behind my current project, The Window Zine. Published biweekly, this collection is a curated compilation of a variety of art forms that explore our community's thoughts and feelings around the COVID-19 pandemic. I personally find that the best way for me to process my feelings is to write them out, even if I never do anything with the result. In this particular case, however, the isolation of staying home made me yearn for connection with others. If we couldn't physically come together, our art could have place where it existed in community, even if it was a digital space.

I have wanted to edit a zine for a few years now but kept putting it off because the timing didn't feel right, or because I was busy, or because I didn't really know how to get it started. With The Window, the project only made sense to produce and edit in the moment. It has been a wonderful learning opportunity and a true pleasure to receive talented, vulnerable, and heartfelt submissions into my inbox week after week.

The final and most important point of this project was that I wanted our art to turn into a tangible good. Charging only $3 an issue was a deliberate attempt to make the zine affordable to all not only because I feel that art should be accessible to everybody, but because I am donating all proceeds to different charitable organization. All the money from Issue 1 went to Halton Women's Shelter, and from Issue 2 to Food for Life. Watching art turn into food has been another unexpected delight that this project offered me.

I wanted to thank all my past contributors for their wonderful work, and I look forward to seeing new submissions in my mailbox. Please feel free to reach out with your art and ideas. I am always happy to grow and expand this project to accommodate your artistic vision.

Take good care,

Tamara De Dominicis