This weekend, check out the zine scene at MOCA, drop in at Night Market Cleveland, attend Pecha Kucha Volume 26, support the nonprofit CAN Journal and more.

Mimeo Revolution | Artist Book + Zine Fair
Thursday, August 27th 6 - 9 pm
Friday, August 28th 11 am - 9 pm
Saturday, August 29th 11 am - 9 pm
MOCA Cleveland 11400 Euclid Ave.
Art book + zine fair: free
Exhibition admission + programs: $8 (free for museum members)
Full Schedule Here

When a journalist for a Buenos Aires based fashion magazine asked multi-media artist and curator T.R. Ericsson, “What is the value of art?” the simple yet loaded question was matched by a thoughtful response -- the power and strength of art stems from its uselessness.

“Art responds to our inner lives. It exists outside of the realm of usefulness and practicality and it engages with our humanity in intuitive ways that are the closest to real joy and meaning,” says Ericsson. “The real joy of being alive is most often held outside of what is practical and for this reason I believe art can portray us as human beings at our best.”

This weekend marks Cleveland’s first-ever Mimeo Revolution -- a three-day series hosted by MOCA Cleveland and co-curated by T.R. Ericsson and illustrator John Greiner (aka John G.) that features a limited edition box set of 20 art zines created by 20 young artists, many from Ohio and some from as far away as California and New York.

With just an idea, a few dollars and a copy machine, anybody can produce a zine. The idea is simple — yet revolutionary. For underground artists, zines represent an inexpensive and indispensable form of expression and community that is easy to trade, buy and sell.

“As a visual artist you engage in DIY strategies as a matter of necessity that soon becomes a passion. There’s a power to just making something happen —it becomes an addiction that you want to do again.”

Mimeo Revolution was modeled after the MoMa PS1 Artist Book Fair (a popular underground publishing fair in NYC and now in LA) and was inspired by the energy and DIY ethos of 1960’s Cleveland-based poet and publisher d.a. levy and Ohio born comic legend Derf Backderf who are currently featured in MOCA's current summer exhibition, "How to Remain Human" (on view through September 5).

The event was named after the mimeograph, an early printing process somewhere between a letterpress and xerox machine used to print early fan zines cheaply and easily.

The three day series features an eclectic mash-up of live music, discussions and performances bridged together by their DIY ethos and led by a diverse collective of underground art heroes.

The series includes underground comic artists, photography and poetry including a workshop led by Lake Erie Ink and a spoken word program titled “Rhythm + Resistance” inspired by prolific poet d.a. levy and hosted by RA Washington, writer, artist and co-owner of Guide to Kulchur.

The comic artists involved in the zine series were hand picked by John G., illustrator and co-creator of the comic book Lake Erie Monster and founder of the successful independent comic convention, Genghis Con.

The only rule for Mimeo Revolution was that each artist had to be born after 1980. “One of the main ideas was to give the event over to younger artists and lesser known artists,” says Ericsson. “Each artist designed their own design and built it themselves online. Now that I have them all in hand I’m blown away at the quality thoughtfulness and shear energy of each book.”

Ericsson, 43, was born in Ohio and has been living and working in NYC for 25 years. He spends his summers in Ohio and remains active in Cleveland’s artist community. “What’s nice about Cleveland is you can feel the contribution that often gets lost in NYC,” he says.

His acclaimed Crackle & Drag exhibition, which explored the harrowing legacy of his mother’s suicide, recently ended its three-month run at Transformer Station. The exhibition included a box set of 'zines he created using archived family photos and keepsakes.

“Even my private work deals with this idea of giving a voice to voiceless. My heart beats with that,” says Ericsson. 'Zine making is not about the money, it’s about communicating something to the world, something intimate or thoughtful, or simply a beautiful fleeting image.”

Mimeo Revolution also includes a lineup of live music. Make sure to catch an outdoor concert by prolific noise punk Obnox and hi-fi organ punk by Archie and the Bunkers on Thursday as part of The Beat Uptown. Friday, the after-party is at Euclid Tavern with singer/songwriter Bill Fox and Saturday, head to the Grog Shop for a party with DJ Haley.

Ericsson hopes it will become an affordable and fun annual event that inspires others. He believes that the snapshots printed inside of these publications, whether through text or visual art, possess the unique power of capturing ephemeral experiences and preserving them in time.

“Our culture is so frantic and busy and that’s what I love about the zine — you pick it up and you’re gone — you’re transported somewhere else important to be,” Ericsson says.

PechaKucha Night CLE - Volume 26
Thursday, August 27th. 7 - 10:30 pm
Hofbräuhaus Cleveland 1550 Chester Ave.
$2 donation

Drink a liter of hefeweizen in the spirit of creative ideas. This Thursday, PechaKucha will be hosted in Hofbräuhaus’ 1,000 person Bier Garden terrace.

PechaKucha began in Tokoyo and is now filmed and hosted globally by 700 cities. PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas in a simple presentation  format where each speaker shows 20 images for 20 seconds. The presentations begin at 8:30 and end promptly at 10:30.

Great Lakes Burning River Fest
Friday & Saturday August 28th - 29th. 6 - 11 pm
The Old Coast Guard Station on Whisky Island
Tickets are $12 - $15

Enjoy 18 bands and all the Great Lakes Brewing your heart desires! Burning River Festival remembers the 1969 burning of the Cuyahoga River and celebrates the eco-consciousness that that resulted from this infamous incident. Proceeds benefit the Burning River Foundation, a local non-profit organization that provides resources for the sustainable future of our waterways, which has donated almost $400,000 to date.

Night Market Cleveland
Friday, August 28th. 5 - 11 pm
AsiaTown at corner of Rockwell and E. 21st
Free

Enjoy AsiaTown’s brightly-lit open-air August Night Market. Each summer month, the neighborhood comes together to creates a unique and worldly fusion of nightlife, food and entertainment. This month features Latin music by Chamba Music and dancing by Viva Dance.

CAN JOURNAL Fall 2015 Issue Debut Party!
Friday, August 28th. 6 - 8 pm
1point618 6421 Detroit Ave.
Free

Celebrate the fall launch of Collective Arts Network Journal! Get your copy of the new issue, get up to date on the quarterly arts magazine, and check out 1point618 Gallery's 10th anniversary show.