Showing posts with label International Comic Arts Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Comic Arts Festival. Show all posts

Sunday, October 04, 2009

ICAF 2009 program up online

From: Charles Hatfield

Now up online, reorganized, and greatly expanded: the program for the 14th Annual International Comic Arts Forum, ICAF 2009, to be held Oct. 15-17 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago:

http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/icaf/a.html

Guests will include artists American artists Guy Davis and Sara Varon, UK artist John Miers (winner of the first-ever Digital Artist award for Web & Interactive Design, announced yesterday, http://www.digitalartistawards.com/), Spanish artists Max and Pere Joan, and Italian scholar Marco Pelleteri, winner of this year's John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies.

Plus we'll have the usual diverse mix of scholars from all over -- this year's cohort includes Canadian, Norwegian, Indian, Japanese, German, and Belgian as well as US scholars -- giving refereed papers about the world(s) of comics!


Friday, March 06, 2009

International Comic Arts Forum WANTS YOU!

CALL FOR PROPOSALS EXTENDED:

The 14th Annual International Comic Arts Forum: ICAF 2009

October 15-17, 2009

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

<http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org>

ICAF, the International Comic Arts Forum, invites scholarly paper proposals for its fourteenth annual meeting, to be held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, from Thursday, October 9, through Saturday, October 11, 2008.

The deadline to submit proposals HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO April 3, 2009. (Scroll down for proposal guidelines and submission information.) Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

ICAF welcomes original proposals from diverse disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning, including comic strips, comic books, albums, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, political cartoons, gag cartoons, and caricature. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are all equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning, for example in image/text studies or new media theory. In keeping with its mission, ICAF is particularly interested in studies that reflect an international perspective.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES:
For its refereed presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can accept only original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of twenty (20) minutes (that is, roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages). Proposals should not exceed 300 words.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT:
ICAF's preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully, we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a USB key or CD, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS:
All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to high interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically been able to accept only one third to one half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with complete contact information) by March 20, 2009, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Director, via email at:

cdanehy@wheatoncollege.edu

Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgment within three days of sending your proposal, please resubmit. Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by April 17, 2009.

Thursday, March 05, 2009

ICAF's 2009 John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies

2009 John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies

Students of comics!

ICAF, the International Comic Arts Forum, is proud to hold each year the John A. Lent Scholarship in Comics Studies competition. The Lent Scholarship, named for pioneering teacher and researcher Dr. John A. Lent, is offered to encourage student research into comic art. ICAF awards the Lent Scholarship to a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics. (Preference is given to master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, but all students of comics are encouraged to apply.) The Scholarship was established in 2005.

The Scholarship is subject to the condition that the recipient present a half-hour talk, based on her or his research, during ICAF. The award consists of up to US$500 in kind to offset the cost of travel to and/or accommodations at the conference. A commemorative letter and plaque are also awarded. No cash is awarded.

Applicants must be students, or must show acceptance into an academic program, at the time of application. For example, applicants for ICAF 2009 must show proof of student status for the academic year 2008-2009, or proof that they have been accepted into an academic program beginning in academic year 2009-2010.

The Scholarship competition is adjudicated by a three-person committee chosen from among the members of ICAF’s Executive Committee. Applications should consist of the following written materials, sent electronically in PDF form:

* A self-contained excerpt from the project in question, not to exceed twenty (20) double-spaced pages of typescript.

* A brief cover letter, introducing the applicant and explaining the nature of the project.

* The applicant’s professional resume.

* A brief letter of reference, on school letterhead, from a teacher or academic advisor (preferably thesis director), establishing the applicant’s student status and speaking to her/his qualifications as a researcher and presenter.

PLEASE NOTE that applications for the Lent Scholarship are handled entirely separately from ICAF’s general Call for Proposals (which can be viewed at http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/icaf/call-for-proposals-icaf-2009.html). Students who submit abstracts to the general CFP are welcome to apply separately for the Lent Award.

Send inquiries and application materials via email to Ana Merino of the ICAF Executive Committee, at ana.merino@dartmouth.edu. The deadline for 2009 submissions is May 1, 2009.

Sunday, February 01, 2009

ICAF CFP

Sure, they left DC, but I can be a big man about this:

CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

The 14th Annual International Comic Arts Forum: ICAF 2009

October 15-17, 2009

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

<http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org>

ICAF, the International Comic Arts Forum, invites scholarly paper proposals for its fourteenth annual meeting, to be held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, from Thursday, October 9, through Saturday, October 11, 2008.

The deadline to submit proposals is March 20, 2009. (Scroll down for proposal guidelines and submission information.) Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

ICAF welcomes original proposals from diverse disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning, including comic strips, comic books, albums, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, political cartoons, gag cartoons, and caricature. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are all equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning, for example in image/text studies or new media theory. In keeping with its mission, ICAF is particularly interested in studies that reflect an international perspective.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES:

For its refereed presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can accept only original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of twenty (20) minutes (that is, roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages). Proposals should not exceed 300 words.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT:

ICAF's preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully, we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a USB key or CD, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS:

All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to high interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically been able to accept only one third to one half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with complete contact information) by March 20, 2009, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Director, via email at:

cdanehy@wheatoncollege.edu

Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgment within three days of sending your proposal, please resubmit. Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by April 17, 2009.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Nominate yourself for the Lent Scholarship (students only)

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:

THE JOHN A. LENT SCHOLARSHIP IN COMICS STUDIES,
INTERNATIONAL COMICS ARTS FORUM (http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org)

The International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) is proud to announce once again the annual John A. Lent Scholarship competition. The Lent Scholarship, named for pioneering teacher and researcher Dr. John A. Lent, is offered to encourage student research into comic art. ICAF awards the Lent Scholarship to a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics. (Preference is given to master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, but all students of comics are encouraged to apply.)

The Scholarship is subject to the condition that the recipient present a half-hour talk, based on their research, during ICAF. The award will consist of hotel accommodations for the duration of ICAF (that is, three nights’ hotel) at ICAF’s expense, or the equivalent in reimbursement for travel. A commemorative letter and plaque will also be awarded.

Applicants must be students, or must show acceptance into an academic program, at the time of application. For example, applicants for ICAF 2008 must show proof of student status for the academic year 2007-2008, or proof that they have been accepted into an academic program for the academic year 2008-2009.

The Scholarship competition will be adjudicated by a three-person committee chosen from among the members of ICAF’s Executive Committee. Applications should consist of:

* A self-contained excerpt from the project in question, not to exceed twenty (20) double-spaced pages of typescript.

* A brief cover letter, introducing the applicant and explaining the nature of the project.

* The applicant’s professional resume.

* A letter of reference, on school letterhead, from a teacher or academic advisor (preferably thesis director), establishing the applicant’s student status and speaking to her/his qualifications as a researcher and presenter.

PLEASE NOTE that applications for the Lent Scholarship are handled entirely separately from ICAF’s general Call for Papers.

Applicants for the 2008 Lent Scholarship should send their application materials by JUNE 13, 2008 to Dr. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Coordinator at:

Dr. Cecile Daney
Department of French Studies
Wheaton College
26 East Main Street
Norton, Massachusetts 02766-2322

Email inquiries should be sent to Dr. Danehy at cdanehy@wheatoncollege.edu.

Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of the competition results by Friday, June 27, 2008.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

ICAF 2007 - Kyle Baker speaks

The International Comic Arts Forum was at the Library of Congress in 2007, and the Library routinely records events. The tapes of the event were given by ICAF to Michigan State University's Comic Art Collection, but I have a cd copy of them and was able to provide a mp3s of Kyle Baker speaking about his career for a researcher from the comix-scholars listserve, rather than putting Librarian Randy Scott to the effort of getting a tape duplicated. The tape was corrupted and had another program recorded over most of the first side of it - it picks up with Baker talking about when he was doing "King David." The second side moves onto "Nat Turner." The session ends with him answering semi-audible questions from the audience.

Baker's one of the best cartoonists working today in comic books today. I enjoy his work immensely (although I'm still disgruntled about how he and Andy Helfer abused my hero, The Shadow in the 1980s) and hearing him speak about it was a treat. Credit goes to Stanford Carpenter who booked him for ICAF.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

ICAF moves to Chicago; Rhode refuses to attend

This will be the first one that I've missed. Bah.

The Thirteenth Annual INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM (ICAF)
October 9-11, 2008

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (http://www.saic.edu)

The International Comic Arts Forum invites scholarly paper presentations for its thirteenth annual meeting, to be held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, from Thursday, October 9, through Saturday, October 11, 2008. The deadline to submit proposals is May 1, 2008 (see below for proposal guidelines and submission information). Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

We welcome original proposals from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics or cartooning, including comic strips, comic books, albums, graphic novels, manga, webcomics, political cartoons, gag cartoons, and caricature. Studies of aesthetics, production, distribution, reception, and social, ideological, and historical significance are all equally welcome, as are studies that address larger theoretical issues linked to comics or cartooning, such as image/text relationships. In keeping with its mission, ICAF is particularly interested in studies that reflect an international perspective.

ICAF is proud to be hosted this year by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a leader in art education and a vital part of Chicago's arts community. In order to create a conference program that reaches out to that community and reflects Chicago's rich heritage of comic art, we particularly invite proposals which touch on cartoonists and publications from the city and surrounding region. Chicago is a major hub of American cartooning, the wellspring of a tremendous variety of work: from the political cartoons of John T. McCutcheon and Bill Mauldin, to the pioneering comic strips of the Chicago Tribune, to the seminal underground cartooning in the Chicago Mirror, Chicago Seed, and Bijou Funnies, to the "independent" comics boom of the 1980s, to contemporary alternative comics by Chris Ware and a host of others. In hopes of building a conference that responds to this important heritage, ICAF invites proposals with special interest in comics and cartoons from Chicago and the American Midwest.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES: For its refereed presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers that are clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can accept only original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of twenty (20) minutes (that is, roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages). Proposals should not exceed 300 words.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT: ICAF's preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a USB key or CD, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS: All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to increasing interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically been able to accept only one third to one half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with COMPLETE contact information) by May 1, 2008, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Coordinator, via email at .

Receipt of proposals will be acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgment within three days of sending your proposal, please resubmit. Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by May 16, 2008.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

ICAF and OSU's Festival - another blog

My buddy Charles Hatfield stayed with me for ICAF and then we drove to Ohio for OSU's event. If you click those preceeding sentence's links, you'll see he's put up blog entries on the two with many more links than I ever bother with. He did note that OSU's put up highlight photos so I'll steal that link from him.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Lat/KAL/Drew Rougier-Chapman Iconophobia panel article

A fairly good overview of the Lat/KAL/Drew Rougier-Chapman Iconophobia panel was published in "Panel talks about religious satire," by Husna Kazmirs, George Washington University Hatchet Reporter, 10/22/07.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Lat interview from ICAF

See "Cartoons are forever, says Lat," New Strait Times October 21, 2007. It's some reporting from the Iconophobia panel at ICAF about the recent controversies over cartoons.

Lat, KAL and Drew Rougier-Chapman pictures

The three cartoonists spoke on Iconophobia at George Washington's Gelman Library for the International Comic Arts Forum. I'll try to post something more than pictures soon, but here they are.

Lat signing my books at ICAF.

Lat still signing my books at ICAF.

Newspaper clipping of Lat receiving an honorary doctorate.

Lat speaking at ICAF.

KAL's whiteboard drawing of his first victim at the International Comic Arts Forum.

KAL's whiteboard drawing of his first victim at the International Comic Arts Forum.

KAL's whiteboard drawing of his first victim at the International Comic Arts Forum.

Lat and editorial cartoonists Drew Rougier-Chapman and KAL at the International Comic Arts Forum.

Editorial cartoonist KAL signing his book while John Lent loiters, at the International Comic Arts Festival.

Editorial cartoonist KAL signing his book while John Lent loiters, at the International Comic Arts Festival.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Oct 20: Kyle Baker at ICAF at LOC today

ICAF's been good, as usual this year. In two hours, the rest of the conference wraps up. Kyle Baker is speaking and he's always interesting. See you there?

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
1:00-2:30 Panel 7: Remembrance and nostalgia
Moderated by Marc Singer, ICAF Executive Committee
Jennifer Castel, “Nostalgia, Representation, and Identity in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers”
Pedro Pérez del Solar, “’A Führer’s day’: Comics and politics of memory in 1980s Spain”
Jason Buchanan, “A Superman without a World: Mourning, Melancholy, and Nostalgia in the Images of Post 9/11 Superman”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Lent Scholarship Lecture: Orion Ussner Kidder, University of Alberta
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist KYLE BAKER (USA)
5:00 Closing remarks

Thursday, October 18, 2007

ICAF announces presenter refused admission to US updated

Over on the blog of Marc Singer, ICAF chair, Marc and Ernesto Priego engage in a little back and forth with Priego writing in that he feels his visa problem was a normal paperwork snafu. One can make up one's own mind depending on how one feels about the government, but I think Charles Hatfield will be reading Priego's paper on Saturday.

Charles and I are off to ICAF now - if you're coming to the sessions, look us up.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

ICAF schedule

Ok, again - I'm going. Anyone else? I'll be there all three days.

THE TWELFTH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM
Madison Building, Library of Congress, Washington DC
October 18-20, 2007

This schedule is subject to change.

ICAF is free and open to the public. No registration is necessary to attend.

All events will be held in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the Madison Building unless otherwise noted.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18
9:00-9:15 Welcome and introduction
9:15-10:45 Panel 1: To and against type: Othering and stereotyping
Moderated by Stanford Carpenter, ICAF Executive Committee
Phillip Troutman, “Abolition Comix: Semiotics, Icon, Sequence, and Network in Anti-Slavery Visual Argument”
Jay Casey, “Advance and Be Criticized: A Reappraisal of the Portrayal of Friend and Foe by Overseas Soldier Cartoonists during the Second World War”
Frank Bramlett, “Camp, Sissies, and Queers in The Rawhide Kid”
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Panel 2: Political tensions in contemporary Asian cartooning
Moderated by Craig Fischer, ICAF Executive Committee
Todd S. Munson, “Anti-Chinese Rhetoric in Contemporary Japanese Manga”
Josette Mazzella di Bosco Balsa, “Political cartoonists in the historical context of Hong Kong after the Handover, 1997-2007”
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Panel 3: Sound and speech in comics
Moderated by Cecile Danehy, ICAF Executive Committee
Robert S. Petersen, “The Metamorphosis of Phylacteries”
C. W. Toph Marshall, “Diegetic Sound in Dave Sim’s Cerebus”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Guest Speaker DR. IAN GORDON (Australia/Singapore)
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Art display in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room
Courtesy of the Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon
Curated by Sara Duke and Martha Kennedy, The Swann Foundation
5:00-6:00 Display of drawings by Lat in the Asian Division Reading Room
Courtesy of the Library of Congress Asian Division
Curated by Kathryn Wellen, Library of Congress Asian Division

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
9:30-11:00 Panel 4: Comics in cultural institutions
Moderated by Arnold Blumberg, Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Poliana Irizarry and Joshua C. Roberts, “Beyond Leisure Reading: Garnering Support for Comics Scholarship from Your Academic Library”
John Jennings and Damian Duffy, “Remasters of American Comics: Sequential art as new media in the face of the transformative museum context”
11:00-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30

Panel 5: The theory and practice of comics studies

Moderated by Charles Hatfield, ICAF Executive Committee
Ernesto Priego, “The Tell-Tale Smell of Burning Paper: ‘Logic of Form’ and the Origin of Comics”
Benjamin Woo, “An Age-old Problem: Problematics of Comic Book Historiography”
Joseph Witek, “American Comics Criticism and the Problem of Dual Address”

Ernesto Priego is unable to present his paper at ICAF because he has been denied entry into the United States of America. The U.S. government has not renewed his visa, nor have they given him any explanation why he will not be allowed into the country. ICAF protests this refusal of entry, part of a recent and disturbing trend of excluding foreign scholars, as an infringement on academic freedom.
12:30-2:00 Lunch
2:00-3:30 Panel 6: Audiences and reception cultures
Moderated by Guy Spielmann, ICAF Executive Committee
Noriko Inomata, “The establishment of female manga readership in Japan and its circulation system: A comparison with the case of French market”
Ken Parille, “Jason and the Appropriators: Fashion, Photos, and the Comic”
José Alaniz, “Autobiography and Post-Soviet Russian Comics”
3:30-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist LAT (Mohammed Nor Khalid) (Malaysia)
Introduced by John A. Lent, Temple University
5:00-7:30 Dinner
7:30-9:00 ICAF AND THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY JOINTLY PRESENT:
Iconophobia: Comics, Politics, and the Power of the Image

A special event at the George Washington University’s Gelman Library featuring Lat, Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, and Robert Russell
Co-sponsored by the Gelman Library, the GWU English Department, & the GWU Writing Program

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
1:00-2:30 Panel 7: Remembrance and nostalgia
Moderated by Marc Singer, ICAF Executive Committee
Jennifer Castel, “Nostalgia, Representation, and Identity in Art Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers”
Pedro Pérez del Solar, “’A Führer’s day’: Comics and politics of memory in 1980s Spain”
Jason Buchanan, “A Superman without a World: Mourning, Melancholy, and Nostalgia in the Images of Post 9/11 Superman”
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-3:45 Lent Scholarship Lecture: Orion Ussner Kidder, University of Alberta
3:45-4:00 Break
4:00-5:00 Guest Artist KYLE BAKER (USA)
5:00 Closing remarks

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

ICAF announces presenter refused admission to US

Tom Spurgeon was informed of this by chair Marc Singer. From the ICAF website (emphasis in the original):

Panel 5: The theory and practice of comics studies
Moderated by Charles Hatfield, ICAF Executive Committee
Ernesto Priego, “The Tell-Tale Smell of Burning Paper: ‘Logic of Form’ and the Origin of Comics”
Benjamin Woo, “An Age-old Problem: Problematics of Comic Book Historiography”
Joseph Witek, “American Comics Criticism and the Problem of Dual Address”

Ernesto Priego is unable to present his paper at ICAF because he has been denied entry into the United States of America. The U.S. government has not renewed his visa, nor have they given him any explanation why he will not be allowed into the country. ICAF protests this refusal of entry, part of a recent and disturbing trend of excluding foreign scholars, as an infringement on academic freedom.


Marc Singer expands on it a little more at his blog.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

THE INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM, OCT. 18-20

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20540

September 27, 2007

Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639, durschel@loc.gov
Public contact: Martha Kennedy (202) 707-9115

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS TO HOST 12TH ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMIC ARTS FORUM, OCT. 18-20

The Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress will host the 12th annual meeting of the International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF), which will feature the Malaysian cartoonist Lat, the versatile comic artist Kyle Baker and many comic art scholars from around the world.

The three-day forum starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18, and ends at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. Made possible by support from the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, the forum is free and open to the public.

The first day of the conference will conclude with time to view two displays of cartoon art prepared by specialists from two divisions of the Library of Congress:
• “Treasures of Caricature Art,” selections of drawings and prints from the Library’s outstanding holdings of comic art, will be on view from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, Room 339, on the third floor of the Madison Building. The display will be organized by division curators Sara W. Duke and Martha H. Kennedy.
• Cartoon art by Malaysian cartoonist Lat, selections from the Library’s holdings in the Asian Division, will be on view from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Asian Division Reading Room, Room 150 in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., across the street from the Madison Building. The display will be organized by division Southeast Asian specialist Kathryn Wellen.

Lat (Mohammed Nor Khalid), the guest artist from Malaysia, will speak at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, in the Mumford Room of the Madison Building. Comic artist Kyle Baker will speak at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20, also in the Mumford Room. The gathering of ICAF will feature 20 presentations by scholars and experts in the study of comic arts.

A special panel discussion, “Iconophobia: Comics, Politics and the Power of the Image,” will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, at George Washington University’s Gelman Library. Cartoonists Lat and Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, Robert Russell of the Cartoonists Rights Network International and others will participate in the panel, which will be moderated by Marc Singer.

For a list of event activities, visit www.internationalcomicartsforum.org.

# # #

PR07-195
9/27/07
ISSN: 0731-3527

Friday, September 14, 2007

Oct 18-20 ICAF: LAT, KAL and Kyle (Baker that is)

Here's the schedule - some of the talks look awfully good. I'd especially recommend Ian Gordon and Rusty Witek's. And LAT! All the way from Malaysia. KAL! Always entertaining. And Kyle Baker - an all-around excellent cartoonist who's always great to listen to.

Monday, September 10, 2007

International Comic Arts Forum hotel reservations

Chair Marc Singer wants comics scholars to know:

If you're planning to attend the International Comic Arts Forum in Washington, DC this October 18-20, you should reserve your hotel rooms at the Capitol Hill Suites soon. The cutoff date for reserving rooms at the conference rate is September 17 (next Monday).

The Capitol Hill Suites is located next to ICAF's meeting place at the Library of Congress Madison Building. To receive the ICAF group rate, please call the Capitol Hill Suites at 1-800-619-9468 or 1-202-543-6000 and be sure to reference the International Comic Arts Forum while making your reservations.

For more information, you can visit ICAF's lodging page:

http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/icaf/lodging.html

the Capitol Hill Suites page:

http://www.capitolhillsuites.com/index.html

or the main ICAF site:

http://www.internationalcomicartsforum.org/icaf/

(A full schedule of panels and events will be posted soon.)