The ZineFest welcomes people to think outside of the box – literally – with one of the art pieces at the festival being a talking box.

Auckland artist Matt Liggins' work ‘The Real Pyramid Schemer Project' will be one of the many interesting activities at this year's Tauranga ZineFest on Saturday, August 26.

Event organiser Lynette Fisher says Matt has made a triangle box out of wood that he will get into three times during the festival to talk to people and draw pictures for the public.

A zine is anything self-published, hand-bound or artistic that usually conveys a controversial message or image.

Others artists attending the event are New Zealand poet David Merritt who makes zines out of banana boxes and Readers Digests, and Craig McClure who will be bringing a photocopier called a risograph to the event.

The Tauranga ZineFest is in its second year and, like Matt's project, aims to be a space to allow free expression.

'The artists are all very interesting, and the stallholders are all amazing people. They're so fun to talk to and it's such a community feel, which is what you want,” says Lynette.

'The ZineFest is for that sub-culture to get together to share and swoop and sell. Zines are the epitome of freedom of expression.”

'We are hoping that groups of people and zine makers will spring up and it will become a nice little sub-culture in Tauranga.”

Last year the ZineFest was one of the most popular events during the Tauranga Arts Festival and Lynette says she hopes it will be just as successful this year.

She says the festival is naturally very organic as each zine festival, regardless of its location in New Zealand, brings different people and works.

'The zine makers are always so interested in attending these events, because it's a real amazing community of creators: graphic designers, poets, writers.”

Lynette says the hardest thing about creating the festival last year was organising it on a ‘shoestring budget', however the festival has had some funding provided this year.

'We are doing it for the Tauranga community, we're not doing it to make money,” says Lynette.

'All ZineFests are very much like that, it's all very self-produced and DIY.”

'There are people who go to every Zine ever and people, for example, who are returning from last time who have taken a workshop and are now producing their own zines for this one.”

'We are all about everyone doing it all together. We are absolutely non-exclusive, anyone and everyone is welcome.”

Public are welcome to buy any of the zines and extra merchandise on display at the festival.

The Tauranga ZineFest will be held on Saturday, August 26 on the main floor of the Tauranga Art Gallery on Willow St from 10am-3pm.