Wellington Zinefest x PAPA

Daring to Think of
Something Better

Wellington Zinefest and People Against Prisons Aotearoa are collaborating to bring you Daring to Think of Something Better, a zine-making workshop about prison abolition.

Prisons in Aotearoa uphold colonialism, racism, and social inequality. Most people agree that what happens on the inside is wrong, but it’s hard to believe in alternatives when the status quo is all you’ve known. Come along to Daring to Think of Something Better, learn more about prison abolition, make art, and envision a better future.

Contribute a drawing, some writing, a page, or a whole zine! We will be collating work from this workshop into co-created zines on various aspects of prison abolition.

Materials, abolition resources and guidance will be provided, along with tea, coffee and snacks. This event will be held at TwoFiftySeven, a collaborative workspace at 2/57 Willis Street. The event runs from 1 - 4pm on Saturday July 3.

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Attendance is free, but places for this workshop are limited, so be sure to register for your place.

Poster by @Thomas.stant

People Against Prisons Aotearoa

People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA) is a prison abolitionist organisation working for a fairer, safer, and more just Aotearoa.

They started in February 2015 as a group concerned about the treatment of transgender people in prisons. Since then, they've become a mass-based organisation that works with different communities to address the worst problems of the criminal justice system, and to build a better one.

PAPA Publications

PAPA have worked on a bunch of different materials which are available either for download or purchase.

The Whats and Whys
of Prison Abolition

An introductory zine illustrated by the PAPA Tāmaki branch.

Letters from Lockdown

Letters from prisoners about their experiences in solitary confinement, compiled and illustrated. Available for download or as a print copy.

Solitary Confinement in
New Zealand Prisons

Solitary confinement is the harshest form of punishment available in the New Zealand prison system. This report by People Against Prisons Aotearoa researcher Ti Lamusse outlines why its use in New Zealand prisons needs to end.

Torture in New Zealand Prisons: A Briefing

This booklet draws together the findings of reports made by the Office of the Ombudsman in its investigations of four New Zealand prisons. Using these reports, researchers provide an account, in plain language, of the ongoing abuse and mistreatment of prisoners.

Transformative Justice Workshop

This booklet, made to accompany PAPA workshops, outlines the guiding principles behind transformative justice and presents a brief but malleable plan for dealing with interpersonal harm in a way that does not involve incarcerating, punishing or isolating people. 

Abolitionist Demands

In Abolitionist Demands, PAPA outline a number of material demands that take the path to prison abolition. The demands have been broken down into short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term, as well as into categories concerning policing, courts, and prisons.