Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassidy Wall.
Hi Cassidy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Early in 2021, I felt a personal disconnect from the local queer community due to the ongoing pandemic. To try and quell that, I decided to make a small publication about the queer artist community to meet others (albeit virtually at the time), gain new perspectives and highlight the incredible projects done by queer creators in Minnesota. What I expected to be a small, one-time publication turned into an extensive, multi-issue magazine exploring various people’s stories, experiences, identities, and artistic practices in print-only media. Previous to this project, I had only made small “zines,” with no formal design or art training.
The first issue of Tence, taken from the word “existence,” was self-published and distributed in June of 2021. This issue contained three Twin Cities artists exploring their connection to community, barriers they face, and what their artistic practice means to them. Six months later, Issue 2 arrived, containing 11 artists from a submission call alongside five in-depth feature profiles. Doubling the page count of the first, the second deep dives into these creatives’ lives and what they want to see change, shift, and evolve within the local and broader community. This issue focused on how we can imagine a better future to serve all people, how values drive the artists’ projects, and specifics around their past experiences shaping their present work.
Issue three, distributed mid-august, naturally took on a theme (whereas previous issues did not): nourishment. This current issue encourages readers to expand their idea of what it means to be creative and how we can nourish ourselves and those around us. We explore direct and subtle ways of nourishment, from farming to provide BIPOC folks with free food to utilizing comedy as a way to cope with hardships. This issue contains in-depth interviews with 5 features alongside two essays on the anti-transgender laws working their way through legislation, and how the kitchen can be a place of peace when navigating multiple identities and cultures, respectively. Issue 3 has an illustration and poetry feature as well as a discussion of the commercialization of the current yoga practice.
Tence has been solely made by me, Cassidy, with photography work done by Zoe Prinds-Flash. When I started Tence, I knew nothing about how to make a magazine–only that I enjoyed reading them. I fell in love with the niche topics that articles (or full publications) could cover, how they presented readers with different perspectives, and how I could revisit the ideas as needed. The interview form of Tence allows creatives to speak for themselves and express their ideas and opinions in the most direct way possible. Being print-only creates a tangible space for these experiences to exist without getting swallowed up in the online sphere. This also means that opinions and stories are cemented in time, reminding us that something we may say at one point in our lives can go on to grow, shift, or be reconsidered. There is space for learning.
Without training beforehand, the editions have caused my art practice and design knowledge to grow. I have not only taught myself graphic design but art direction, journalism, business logistics, marketing, and so on. More importantly than the business and design aspects, in my opinion, is that my knowledge and understanding of my community evolved. Tence is meant to challenge set ideas, spur contemplation and evoke a sense of encouragement that we can always learn and change.
Tence recognizes the marginalization of queer individuals who are further oppressed due to other identities. I aim to acknowledge and prioritize those individuals whose stories have been ignored, avoided, and unappreciated due to racism, ableism, and other systemic oppressions. Tence also recognizes that this publication is made on the stolen land of the Dakota and Anishinaabe (in Mni Sota Makoce).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The main challenges have been the financial inaccessibility of print materials and learning everything as I go. Print publications are much more expensive than people think! Starting this as a passion project, I self-funded the first two issues by budgeting my income to cover living costs and then the magazine. Unfortunately, like many creators, I had to balance the project with other sources of income (mine, a full-time job) to fund it. I got really good at time management very quickly. Fortunately, I got a grant for the third issue (something I also did not know existed until after I started the project), which allowed me to continue and send the third issue to print. I also offer a base price for the magazines to cover production cost and an upward sliding scale for folks who can and want to pay more as a donation to help keep Tence going.
Running all aspects of Tence myself, it was pretty overwhelming to learn how to run a business, oversee the finances and keep up my creative spirit to make the publication the best it could be. That being said, the design learning curve was another obstacle- well, not necessarily an obstacle- but a growth experience. Magazine making is often done on the Adobe Creative Suite in Indesign, which I had no prior knowledge of how to do. At that point, my creative ventures had spanned fashion merchandising to music to writing, but not graphic or other design utilizing computer programs. Learning this presented plenty of challenges and frustrations; I got the hang of using the software, and it’s been a beautiful experience to see my design abilities improve.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I develop and produce all aspects of Tence, with the help of photography from Zoe-Prinds Flash. My specialization is publishing design. I also conduct all of the interviews and creative direction for the photoshoots. With the design, I hope to create an engaging, exciting journey that respects the artist’s journeys. Beyond Tence, I have my own personal design projects, a multi-media collage practice, freelance write for and design other publications, sing in the band Internet Dating, and will soon be a trained yoga teacher focused on teaching for the LGBTQIA2S+ community.
With Tence, I am most proud of the space that it has made for artists. I want Tence to be where someone’s artist practice isn’t limited to a word count, viewpoints are not censored, and the individual or group can communicate what they do, why they do it, and what it means to them and for the broader community. We live by what we publish; while the artists are expressing their views, we want to communicate to our readers that we see and support all marginalized folks and are working towards liberation and change. We are not afraid to call out systemic inequities that have continued to oppress marginalized people. We value peoples’ stories over appealing to a certain market, brand identity, or profitability. Outside of zine spaces, few independent, small magazines exist that highlight queer people in their full opinions, values, and ideas.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The magazine industry is fascinating; from small zines to glossy lifestyles, online or digital (or a mixture of both), independently run or corporate based, stand-alone, or a supplement to other forms of media, there’s plenty to speculate about what the future will bring. A large push for printed, independent magazines happened in the early 2010s; At the same time, I don’t see the same push happening again in the present moment. The main shift I see happening is the influence of technology and the internet. I imagine an influence to come into publishing from the digital creation of NFTs and similar online objects. I imagine a hybrid space of offline and online collaborating and developing an interdependence on one another. Funny enough, I’m speaking to this as someone who is analog and loves tangible objects, often resisting various technologies. In reality, I think the two (print and digital) will have to evolve and be innovative in how they interact. I’m excited about using more augmented reality; at the core, I hope magazines/media that fight against inequities and misinformation get recognition.
Making this magazine was my into the industry; companies (in many industries) often look for certain qualifications to consider someone valuable. I hope that perception shifts, and we appreciate those who have explored many industries, didn’t have access to the streamlined college and career formula or experienced other barriers. To recognize those who took an unexpected path to discover what they love to do. As someone new to the industry and without formal training or connection besides my current work, I hope the future brings more opportunities to individuals with different backgrounds and experiences.
Pricing:
- Issue 1: $12 (Base Price)
- Issue 2: $18 (Base Price)
- Issue 3: $20 (Base Price)
Contact Info:
- Website: tencemagazine.com
- Instagram: @Tencemagazine
- Facebook: Tence Magazine
Image Credits
Superwell Co-Creative Zoe Prinds-Flash
