THE NEWCASTLE MIRAGE | 24 MONTHS OF MIRAGE MAGIC

Ryan Williams & Kian West (aka The Newcastle Mirage), two of the most passion driven dudes currently rocking this town, are undoubtedly pioneers in the Novo ‘Zine Scene’. You’ve seen them everywhere, right?!

Having just completed their 24th issue (hooray!!), the two fella’s producing one of Newcastle’s most culturally relevant publications have long been a source of inspiration to The Follower crew. We thought we’d catch up for a celebratory yarn & print pow-wow!

Q. Congratulations on making it to your second year! What a wonderful achievement! How does it feel?

Ryan: It feels amazing! I still get the same buzz getting the latest issues back from print as I did at the beginning.

Q. What have been your proudest achievements?

Kian: There have been a few proud moments. Lately I’d say I’m pretty stoked to have Amy Lovat with ‘Cool People Doing Cool Things’ and Michelle Kot of ‘Newcastle Coffee Snobs’ joining the team.

Q. What have been some of your struggles?

K: Everything worth doing comes with struggles so I’m not sure what I’d highlight but paying for printing some months has been pretty tight.

R: I’d say the quick turnaround we have between gathering stories and sending the magazine to print. It’s forced me to be a better design guy though.

Q. Having been right in the thick of the Newcastle creative development what are the most prominent & potent changes you have witnessed in our darling city?

K: Renew Newcastle really paved a way for creative spaces that have popped up everywhere and the city seems to be on the verge of its next tipping point towards fostering creative business projects and developing an exciting CBD. I can only imagine how exciting the city will become once the University building is in and further developments on the Honeysuckle site.

R: I really love the push for this new variety of independent media and venues in the recent years. The Follower, Hunterhunter & Newcastle Live, the smaller music venues like Hombre, Bank Corner and Wood St, as well as galleries 139 and Curve are all awesome for the city. Money not being the sole motivator for starting something is great.

Q. Can you give us a reflection on your perceived impact on Newcastle. Why it is important for publications like your own to exist?

K: We like to think we were part of this latest wave of creative projects but I’m not sure what impact we have had on Newcastle just yet. Hopefully our little zine will serve as both a catalyst for new endeavours and time machine for forthcoming generations.

R: Keeping everything positive is a big part of what we do; so I feel like we’re (fingers crossed) inspiring others to maybe share the same outlook.

Q. Why is print still relevant, particularly in a Novocastrian context?

R: With so much content floating around on the Internet, I find a little bit of calm in reading print. It’s more of a slow burn. As well as that, I feel like a diverse, as well as geographically spread out, region like Newcastle can really come together with something that’s both new and been done before.

K: I personally feel like print is coming through a revolution the same way that music formats have done over the past decade. There are some huge similarities between how people have gone back to records in a digital age because they want something to hold and treasure. I’d be inclined to suggest that similarly, print serves a similar personal purpose; these cherished pieces of print hold a special value for the reader. In Newcastle I’d say print serves to unite a town that can often feel very divided, we might disagree on different topics, but people need to learn how to support one another in spite of this.

Q. Your content is always on the pulse of what’s happening in Newcastle. How do you keep up? & how do you choose your content?

R: I feel like one story will lead on to another a lot of the time, at least for me. It’s like I’m pulling on a thread of an old knit jumper and it keeps unravelling.

Q. Any other creative projects you fella’s have your digits in?

R: A few little musical things on the burner…

K: Probably a trade secret. Few conversations about collaboration with The Follower… Also rumours of a Newcastle Film competition that sounds cool.

Q. How does the future look for you guys?

K: The future looks bright. I guess the simple dream would be for this to be our job instead of what we do juggle around day jobs. I hope that we are around in another 8 years so that’d probably fill the plan question as well right?

R: We’re going to keep going until Newcastle runs out of stories (which will never happen).

The Newcastle Mirage are currently running a Pozible campaign to fund a 2016 Calendar to mark their 2 year anniversary!! Find out more here: http://www.pozible.com/project/195528

And to subscribe to The Newcastle Mirage (go on!) simply visit: newcastlemirage.com Images by Mitch Lee