2025 - BIG Vertigo

Over three months in 2025, The Big Vertigo was a platform, a playground, a public noticeboard. A zine. A scrapbook.

Vertigo and UTS Library filled the Library tables with ribbons, magazines, stamps, pens and paper, scraps, stickers, even hazard tape — and two huge empty books. We invited you to fill them with anything and everything your heart desired.

We didn’t know what to expect, and what happened was magic.

Pages upon pages were filled with collages, drawings and poetry, capturing whatever you felt in that moment. The creativity and playfulness you brought was overwhelming, and we were delighted by what you made.

This is not your standard polished magazine. This was your chance to write something raw. Share something strange.

See where your creativity takes you. Take the mic before you know what you are going to say.

As students walked in and left their mark, The Big Vertigo lit up.

It became a noticeboard of voices, colour and conversation.

We hoped that Big Vertigo would show the importance of creativity — and that any of us can make something true, real and important.

We believe culture is not something you watch. It is something you do. It is not locked in galleries or behind paywalls. It is in your notes app, your voice memos, your journal margins. It is what you make when no one is watching. You do not need a title or a portfolio. You just need a spark.

So without further ado:

WELCOME TO THE BIG VERTIGO.

To the people who helped make The Big Vertigo a reality, we love and thank you deeply. We’d like to give a special mention to Arkie Thomas for designing and putting this book together, Nate for scanning the scrapbook and digitising it, Melody Kiptoo who birthed this idea during her 2024 Vertigo term, Mia Turner who runs the Library’s community engagement programs and was here for us every step of the way, Megan Wong the Library’s designer, and of course, you. This could not have been possible without everyone who came by the library and drew, collaged, or contributed.

With all our love, the 2025 Vertigo Editorial Team, Bianca Drummond Costa, Mayela Dayeh, Arkie Thomas, Nathan Halward, Zara Hatton, Eryn Yates, Kimia Nojoumian, Jonnie Jock, Liv Litver, Mannix Thomson, Emanie Samira Darwiche <3