The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is pleased to announce our Grand Opening Festival of Cartoon Art, to be held at The Ohio State University in Columbus OH, November 14-17, 2013. The Festival, a celebration of cartoons, comics and their creators, is held every three years. This year we have more to celebrate than ever: the opening of our new expanded facility in Sullivant Hall.
Online registration will open on August 15, 2013 at the 2013 Festival website: https://cartoons.osu.edu/FCA/2013. The general registration fee will be $75 and will include festival keepsake items, reserved seating for events, and more. Registration for students and seniors aged 65 and over will be $25. Space is limited, so register early. Registration closes on November 1, 2013.
About the Festival:
A two-day academic symposium will kick off the Festival on Thursday and Friday, November 14-15, including a keynote address by American media and popular culture scholar Dr. Henry Jenkins. Panels at the conference will focus on the strengths and special features of the Cartoon Library’s unparalleled collection. The academic conference is organized by Professor Jared Gardner and is co-sponsored by OSU’s Popular Culture Program and Project Narrative.
A special program and ribbon-cutting party are planned for Friday night, November 15. The program will feature a conversation with two Ohio State alumni who both have new graphic novels debuting this fall: Jeff Smith and Paul Pope.
Our Festival Forum will take place on Saturday and Sunday, November 16-17, and will feature presentations by talented creators including Brian Basset, Matt Bors, Eddie Campbell, Kazu Kibuishi, and Stephan Pastis. In addition, Jeff Smith will introduce a program of Looney Tunes to celebrate the 75th birthday of Bugs Bunny. The forum will also feature a screening of the documentary, Stripped, which will be introduced by its directors Dave Kellett and Fred Schroeder, and will be followed by Q & A with them and several of the cartoonists featured in the film: Dylan Meconis, Patrick McDonnell, and Hilary Price.
An Evening with the Hernandez Brothers: An Office of Diversity and Inclusion Distinguished Lecture Series Event: A Conversation with Love and Rockets creators Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez will take place on Saturday night, co-sponsored by the Wexner Center and The Ohio State University Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Exhibits: Our new museum will feature two exhibitions.
Treasures from the Collections of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum: This exhibit will feature a selection of exceptional artwork and artifacts highlighting the breadth and depth of our collections.
Substance and Shadow: The Art of the Cartoon: Cartoonists have mastered an almost limitless vocabulary of graphic expression to entertain and enlighten their audiences, but the creative process is still a mystery to most readers. This temporayr exhibition curated by Brian Walker reveals the elements, methods, tools and techniques that cartoonists utilize to create their masterpieces of graphic communication.
Throughout the weekend festival attendees can enjoy behind-the-scenes tours of our new facility.
Youth Programming: The Festival will include several youth events, including a WexLab teen comics workshop in conjunction with the Wexner Center for the Arts, and a special event for children ages 8-10 with French cartoonist Marc Boutavant. Mr. Boutavant’s participation is made possible by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy through the French Authors on Tour 2013 Program. Separate registration is required for these events.
The host hotel will once again be the Hyatt Regency Columbus. Reservations can be made at the conference rate of $135/night through October 22, 2013.
2013 Festival is co-sponsored by: The Ohio State University Libraries, Wexner Center for the Arts, Popular Culture Program, Project Narrative, Humanities Institute, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. With support from Mary F. Gau and Kevin Wolf, Milton Caniff Endowment, and the Mark J. Cohen and Rose Marie McDaniel Endowment.
For further information see http://cartoons.osu.edu or email us at cartoons@osu.edu or call 614-292-0538.