Listen to Dragons Zine, issue 1
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Entry deadlineSep 26, 2026 · 6:59 AM
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Show closesOct 15, 2026
Organization:
NY Artists for Garaunteed Income
Location
Online
Entry Fee
Free Entry
Deadline
September 25, 2026
Listen to Dragons is a zine produced by NY Artists for Guaranteed Income, a grassroots effort to make being an artist financially feasible and equitable in New York State through a permanent guaranteed income program. This zine is a platform for exploring the economic realities of being an artist. It will also demonstrate exactly how much labor goes into producing the content of its pages, by keeping careful account of each contribution. This project is one of many ways that we are organizing for real change in our communities. Guaranteed income, a direct investment in New York's creatives, is the kind of bold change that will get us there.
Ursula Le Guin said it best: "Those that refuse to listen to dragons, are doomed to live out the nightmares of politicians."
Artist laborers are often mistaken for mystics; seeming to conjure fully formed symphonies out of the ether by innate talent, rather than years of toil, persistence and blood. The Listen to Dragons Zine serves to dispel these myths and offer a glimpse into the reality of the lives of artists. It also asks viewers to consider, what might be possible if artists had a little financial freedom to experiment and dream and hone their craft; without risking literal starvation. This idea makes perfect sense to us, but is less obvious for those on the outside of artistic process.
The struggle is a familiar one, and seems inevitable. In isolation our voices feel small and ineffectual.
But consider what could happen when our stories are combined, compared, mirrored against each other? Like concentrating light into a magnifying lens, imagine how powerful a beam of light we could produce ; vividly illuminating why GI for artists is called for, not as a nice idea, but as a solid investment.
As we conceptualize a world where GI for artists is already a reality, we are performing one of the most important functions of the artist. Because before any type of real change is possible, it must first be imagined.
Ursula Le Guin said it best: "Those that refuse to listen to dragons, are doomed to live out the nightmares of politicians."
Artist laborers are often mistaken for mystics; seeming to conjure fully formed symphonies out of the ether by innate talent, rather than years of toil, persistence and blood. The Listen to Dragons Zine serves to dispel these myths and offer a glimpse into the reality of the lives of artists. It also asks viewers to consider, what might be possible if artists had a little financial freedom to experiment and dream and hone their craft; without risking literal starvation. This idea makes perfect sense to us, but is less obvious for those on the outside of artistic process.
The struggle is a familiar one, and seems inevitable. In isolation our voices feel small and ineffectual.
But consider what could happen when our stories are combined, compared, mirrored against each other? Like concentrating light into a magnifying lens, imagine how powerful a beam of light we could produce ; vividly illuminating why GI for artists is called for, not as a nice idea, but as a solid investment.
As we conceptualize a world where GI for artists is already a reality, we are performing one of the most important functions of the artist. Because before any type of real change is possible, it must first be imagined.