Spew: The Homographic Convergence was the first ever queer zine convention that took place at Randolph Street Gallery in Chicago on May 25, 1991. Spew brought together a vast network of queer artists, editors, and performers across the United States and Canada.
Editor’s Note & Correction: After publishing the following video, we were contacted by one of the original organizers of SPEW with a request to more accurately represent the people behind the convergence. At 00:17, the video should state, “The convention, which was organized by Steve LaFreniere, LaMar, Steve Marton, and Lawrence Steger, marked the explosion of the Queercore subculture.” When it comes to the cultural record, we will always be willing to make corrections and revisions that improve the accuracy of the information we provide for the sake of the archive and to acknowledge the people who make the work. We also acknowledge the injustices and erasures to queer history and wish to make the histories we share on our platforms as complete and accurate as possible.
This video was created in collaboration with Art Design Chicago and Chicago Collections Consortium, and was produced by Ryan Edmund Thiel.
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Featured Image: A compilation of images of posters and promotional images from Spew’s archival materials. Images courtesy of Chicago Collections.
