A Fanzine For And About Tottenham
“Do Well And Doubt Not”, Tottenham’s almost forgotten town motto, is displayed on a coat of arms in the old Town Hall, open for everyone to see. It is also the name of a new fanzine for and about Tottenham, published by civic ideas agency Spacemakers.
Tottenham, located in North London, has had for the longest time a reputation of being a hotspot for poverty, crime, and violence. It is particularly their infamous riots that have caused numerous headlines in the newspapers all over the country. A quote in the Evening Standard after the 2011Tottenham Riot stating that “now is the time for a new approach to the city that doesn’t use the euphemisms of regeneration, but deals with the city in its dirty reality” gave editor Tom Keeley from Range Editions and designers Jon Cannon and Simon Rochowski reason to create Do Well And Doubt Not. Range Editions has always been interested in “unsung geographies, everyday landscapes and overlooked architectures” and so a fanzine on Tottenham fits right in.
Being composed of interviews that were recorded during casual walks around the area while having ordinary conversations with the locals, the fanzine reflects Tottenham’s thoughts, voices and opinions and, thus, delivers a truthful image of its residents. During the interviews, the people used the opportunity to both, celebrate the immensely cultural diverse area and to address problems and possible solutions within Tottenham.
In a sense, Do Well And Doubt Not has no particular agenda, its only topic being Tottenham. Therefore, it is fully for and about Tottenham. Even the typography is taken from the area. As an one-topic publication the fanzine marks a new form of open, non-violent dialog inside and outside the boarders of Tottenham. As poignantly stated in its introduction Do Well And Doubt Not shines as “an opportunity to tell another story, one that questions stereotypes rather than confirms them”. Its first issue is available upon request. It is licensed under Creative Commons and is distributed for free.
