SPX 2020 Program Schedule
SPX programming for 2020 is going virtual — details below!
Balancing parenting with creating art can be difficult under the best of circumstances. In a time when parents also have to cope with a global pandemic, economic turmoil, injustice and oppression, and naked racism, how are cartoonists who are parents coping with this? How is it affecting not only their output, but the content of
More Info » This will be a live presentation of the Enemies Of The State podcast. Moderated by Alex Hoffman, he will join critics Daniel Elkin, Sarah Miller, Jules Bakes, and Rob Clough to do a deep dive into Vivian Chong & Georgia Webber's graphic memoir Dancing After TEN.
Take a tour and listen to the behind-the-scenes workings of Ann Arbor's Diskette Press! Publisher Carta Monir will lead a discussion with two of the artists she publishes, Emma Jayne (Trans Girls Hit The Town) and Casey Nowak (Girl Town, Duh Ha Ha). Diskette's ace employee and Risograph tech whiz Renée Cymry will also provide
More Info » Combining comics, storytelling, statistics, and facts, Knight makes the case that America's biggest problem is its inability to have a frank and honest discussion about race. Knight's presentation is designed to provoke constructive dialogue amongst people young and old, left and right, of all colors and orientations. The presentation has been a hit at schools,
More Info » Just For Laughs is a panel dedicated to gags in comics, how they work, and why we love them! Ideally, we'll discuss the structures that make for a successful gag, the role of gags in fan comics, how gags work in the midst of heavier material, the culture surrounding gags, and, of course, the gags
More Info » Anthologies can be a powerful source for a number of artists to raise their voices for a particular cause. Moderator Dr. Rachel Miller will join Diane Noomin (editor of the Eisner Award-winning Drawing Power: Women's Stories Of Sexual Violence, Harassment And Survival), Hazel Newlevant (editor of the Ignatz Award-winning Comics For Choice: Illustrated Abortion Stories,
More Info » A seamless tapestry of comics, radio play, and live theatrical performance, The Future Without You is a collection of six short pieces from Tulsa Artist Fellow and Ignatz-award winning comics creator Sophie Goldstein and Tulsa Artist Fellow Carl Antonowicz, starring actors Kara Bellavia and Javier Sagel. Moderator Rob Clough will have a brief discussion with
More Info » One thing lacking in many art school curriculums is how to approach signing a book contract. What considerations should an artist consider in negotiating a contract? How do factors like copyrights, media rights, licensing, reversion rights figure into a contract? Join moderator Rob Clough and the interim Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense
More Info » Cartoonists GB Tran (Vietnamerica) and Erin Williams (Commute) join this roundtable with moderator Qiana Whitted and other scholars from the International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) to discuss the ways that audience, reception, and "relatability" affect how comics are created, particularly those by women and people of color. How do these artists render hidden on painful
More Info » While comics have always provided a space for the provocative modification of the human body, in recent years cartoonists have returned to the horror genre to twist it with their new visions of terrifying human figures. Grounding their approach to horror in the body itself, these artists excavate intimacy, desire, fantasy, and community care as
More Info » Moderator J.A. Micheline will engage in conversation with Ignatz-award winning cartoonist Bianca Xunise (Six Chix, Say Her Name) about punk rock, goth, and her comics career.
Political cartooning is often also intensely personal. How do political cartoonists decide how to personalize their strategies for resistance against powerful state and corporate structures? Moderator Rob Clough will engage R.Sikoyrak (Constitution Illustrated), Dwayne "Mr. Fish" Booth (Nobody Left), Breena Nuñez (The Nib), and Derf (Kent State: Four Dead In Ohio) regarding visual strategies, the
More Info » How do cartoonists confront the notion that public institutions that we should be able to trust are often corrupt and racist? How are they reacting to how public protest is met with military force and the ways in which gentrification is a literal and figurative act of violence? Join moderator Robin Enrico as he engages
More Info » How and why do cartoonists use fictional characters as a stand-in for their own experiences? Moderator Alex Hoffman and artists Lawrence Lindell (The Section), Kelsey Wroten (Cannonball), and Trungles (The Magic Fish) will explore how fictionalization allows artists to express certain truths more openly, lets artists shape a narrative, and the process of deciding how
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