Thursday, June 28, 2012

SPX Announces Original Art Donations for the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress

SPX Announces Original Art Donations for the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress

For Immediate Release                  Contact: Warren Bernard
                                                        
                                                        E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; June 28, 2012 – Small Press Expo is pleased to announce the acquisition and subsequent donation to the Library of Congress of original art by various Small Press Expo alumni and exhibitors. Sara Duke, curator of Applied and Graphic Material in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress had this to say about the donation:

We are excited that our partnership with SPX is leading to a greater understanding of the  patrimony of comics; the wealth of original cartoon art here at the Library of Congress now includes independent and small press cartoonists. We are looking forward to the Expo in September, and hope that more talented artists will join the ranks of Raina Telgemeier, Jim Rugg, Jen Sorensen, Matthew Thurber, Keith Knight, Jim Woodring, and Matt Bors in the SPX Collection at the Library of Congress.

The originals include examples of Kurtzman and Glyph Award winner Keith Knight's daily comic strip, The Knight Life as well as examples from his other strips K Chronicles and (Th)ink. 2012 Herblock Award winner Matt Bors donated a number of originals, as did Jen Sorensen, whose Slowpoke syndicated strip  won the 2012 AltWeekly Award for Cartoons.

Every year SPX is honored to have flyers, posters, tote bags, badges, and a program guide decorated with original works by creators attending the show. In addition to gifting copies of the 2011 Small Press Expo's posters, flyers, etc., to the Library of Congress, creators such as Jim Woodring, Matthew Thurber and Jim Rugg donated their originals to be alongside the printed versions. This activity, which will be performed on a yearly basis, will enshrine the artistic heritage of the annual Small Press Expo festival in the Library of Congress cartoon and comics holdings.

The Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress is a first of its kind partnership to preserve the legacy of the indie comics community by focusing on original art by SPX exhibitors, as well as limited edition mini-comics and other publications that are created by the SPX community.

About SPX

Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators, as well as a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at http://www.cbldf.org.

SPX 2012 will be held Saturday, September 15  and Sunday, September 16.  For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.

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