They are not designed for endurance, but what they lack in longevity they can more than make up for in creativity and independent thought. Called ephemera, these short-lived or transitory items of current or passing interest include such articles as posters, periodicals, handbills and pamphlets. They often are born of the type of imagination that is representative of the do-it-yourself (D.I.Y.) attitude. The Visual Arts Education program at DePaul University will highlight the notion of D.I.Y. at an Ephemera Festival from noon until 9 p.m. Sept. 23 at the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

“D.I.Y. celebrates the act of making or doing something independently and without censorship based on the creator’s passion,” said Jim Duignan, director of the Ephemera Festival and founder of the Stockyard Institute, which uses art as a teaching tool. “The Ephemera Festival will pay tribute to people who believe in D.I.Y. and would rather promote and organize their own projects instead of seeking help from outside sources.”

Believed to have originated in the 1930s with science fiction publications called fanzines, the concept of D.I.Y. later evolved into the beat culture of the 1960s and then into the punk movement of the late 1970s. In the 1990s, D.I.Y. was represented by zines, which are inexpensively produced, self-published, underground publications. Today, online journals, or blogs, are considered by some to be the newest form of D.I.Y. The Ephemera Festival will showcase D.I.Y. from a variety of vantage points including art, music and publishing.

Tyler D. Kahdeman, an educational researcher with expertise in urban development and social inequality, will provide the event’s keynote address at 1 p.m. Kahdeman, who also teaches in DePaul’s School of Education, will discuss how D.I.Y. publishing can be employed to challenge today’s corporate media, and how zines can be used as a liberating voice for those excluded from mainstream media outlets.

Other presentations will include an inter-media presentation that will incorporate sound, movies and animation to explore experimental writing and visual and verbal literature at 3 p.m.; an interactive demonstration of the art of circuit bending using instruments and children’s toys at 4 p.m.; and a discussion of how computers can be used to create music presented by experimental musician and composer David Powers at 6:30 p.m.

The festival also will serve as a forum for local, independent publishers to read from their works. Readers will include Aaron Cynic, Kate Sandler, Emerson Dameron and Grant Schreiber.

“This event will not only offer an outlet for independent creative thought, but it will also allow those interested in D.I.Y. to connect and share new ideas,” said Duignan. “We also hope to educate such groups as students, activists, teachers, artists and writers about the many alternative ways of communicating and creating.”

For additional information regarding the festival contact Michelle Aiello at 773/325-7653 or visit ephemerafestival@yahoo.com.