big mouth

The same week that I got two of Lauren Denitzio's illustrated zines in the post, I also discover she's co-curated the following mind-bogglingly awesome sounding event, set to open in New York on August 9th. She's like wonderwoman, and I have big love for her right now!


BIG MOUTH: contemporary feminist voices in art + illustration

OPENING AUGUST 9 @ BROOKLYN FIREPROOF

a group show featuring: Suzy Exposito / Molly Fair / Kim Funk / Kathleen Hanna / J. Morrison / Adee Roberson / Gabby Schulz

Curated by Kate Wadkins + Lauren Denitzio, BIG MOUTH: contemporary voices in feminist art + illustration is a platform for unpopular visual opinions. Feminist movements have historically grown out of interventions within radical communities in the face of silence, anger, and often, violence. Still, these conflicts and contentions are fought with the utmost passion and humor in hopes for a radical resolution. BIG MOUTH illustrates the ever-evolving search for feminist/queer identities and communities. This group show places feminist narratives at the center of radical art-making, where often our voices are poorly represented or left out altogether. BIG MOUTH is a celebration of our pluralism, our goofiness, and a proclamation of defiant love.

@ Brooklyn Fireproof
119 Ingraham St (at Porter Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11237

with open hours throughout

OPENING TUESDAY AUG 9 6p-9p
Opening party & participatory feminist art workshop
Bring your favorite art supplies (some will be provided)

THURSDAY AUG 11 12p-6p
Open hours: drop by and visit with curators Kate Wadkins + Lauren Denitzio

FRIDAY AUG 12
12p-6p Open hours
7p Panel discussion with Suzy Exposito, Kim Funk & more
9p Closing DANCE PARTY!

BIG MOUTH is part of the Birds of Summer event series hosted by For the Birds.

illustrated interview of awesomeness

Such a great illustrated interview with Esther Pearl Watson: via the Poketo blog

super secret crush

Oh me, oh my, this looks great...


Lady Comix Art - Super Secret Crush
(at: Webb Gallery 209-211 W. Franklin Waxahachie, TX 75165. USA)

This exhibit features the work of 22 great lady artists who work in the comic book world. The exhibit features artwork and comics by the artists.

Georganne Deen-Megan Whitmarsh-Martha Rich-Dame Darcy-Nina Frenkel-Ayumi Piland-Mimi Pond-Jackie Dunn Smith-Lorna Leedy-Vanessa Davis-Gabrielle Bell-Hellen Jo-Esther Pearl Watson-Pacolli-Tasha Kusama-Saejean O-Nora Krug-Katherine Guillen-Aya Kakeda-JJ Stratford-Rachell Sumpter-Aiyana Udesen-Prudence Fenton-Bubbles the artist (courtesy of Allie Willis)

July 30 - September 18, 2011

award for my slothliness

Pikaland blog recently posted about Stephanie Housley of Coral and Tusk, and I've fallen head over heels for her Sloth merit badge/medal.

http://coralandtusk.myshopify.com/collections/homeandgifts/products/sloth-medal

pegacorn press

The totally amazing Caroline Paquita has set up an IndieGoGo page to raise funds for more equipment to help get Pegacorn Press, her small, queer, feminist, total-art-freaker publishing house off the ground. She is going to be specializing in small-run art books, comics and zines.

See the fundraiser here: http://www.indiegogo.com/pegacornpress

The (new!) Pegacorn Press blog is here: http://pegacornpress.blogspot.com/


Caroline writes: "As you know, I've been making and printing my own work for a long time now and it's time to expand and start printing other rad artists, particularly of the queer, feminist and total-art-freaker persuasion"

Knowing how great Caroline's artwork and previous self-publishing ventures are, I know that Pegacorn is going to be amazing!

una buena barba 3

I was interviewed a couple of months ago by Miriam for the Spanish-language feminist e-magazine, Una Buena Barba, and it's just been published. I answered questions about zines, and 'Shape & Situate' zine in particular.

If you happen to speak/read Spanish, the interview is in the 3rd issue of Una Buena barba (translated as 'a jolly good beard' (I think!!)) found here: http://issuu.com/unabuenabarba/docs/unabuenabarba3
[I'm on page 59, but there's loads of other great stuff (and great people... Coco Riot, Ruth Bop and Charlotte Cooper to name 3!) in there too, so it's worth a flip through it all!!]

Alas, despite two years of "learning" Spanish at school (in actual fact I only took those Spanish classes to get out of doing P.E and Games, and was so very crap in those lessons!), I don't know much, if any Spansish, so am unable to fully appreciate the magazine (but it's very pretty!).
Thanks to Miriam for translating my English into Spanish for the publication, and for involving me in such a rad magazine.
[It's quite a relief in some ways to not be able to read back what I was waffling on about a few months ago. It's saved my blushes!!]

Shape&Situate #2: current stockists

Shape & Situate is a self-published zine of posters made by artists and DIY creative folk within Europe, each poster highlighting the (often hidden) history and lives of radical inspirational women and collectives from Europe, as a way of connecting us with the past, the present, and to help us to make sure that there will be a future which contains such creative and pioneering female action and activity. The zine aims to activate feminist cultural memory, to inspire in the present and to visually bring women’s social and political history to life.

It is available at the following places:


*Folksy: (http://www.folksy.com/shops/COTL)

*Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/COTL?ref=pr_shop)

*Marching Stars (UK) (http://www.marchingstars.co.uk)

*Ricochet! Ricochet! (UK)

*Dead Trees & Dye (UK) (http://www.deadtreesanddye.com)

*Cherry Bomb (New Zealand) (http://www.cherrybombcomics.co.nz)

*Space Station 65 (UK) (http://www.spacestationsixtyfive.com)

*Ms Valerie Park Distro (USA) (http://msvalerieparkdistro.com)
Online listing at: http://msvalerieparkdistro.com/zines/various-melanie-maddison-shape-situate-2-posters-of-inspirational-european-women

*News From Nowhere (Radical & Community Bookshop, Liverpool, UK. http://www.newsfromnowhere.org.uk)

*lmnop shop (Brighton, UK. http://www.lmnopshop.com)

*Justseeds (USA, http://justseeds.org) Online listings can be found at: http://www.justseeds.org/other_artists/04shapesit02.html and http://www.justseeds.org/other_artists/04shapesit01.html

*Natterjack Press (UK, http://www.natterjackpress.co.uk)

*Vertiline In Love (Sheffield, UK, http://vertilineinlove.com)

*Princesa Pirata distro (UK) (http://princesapiratadistro.wordpress.com)

///

The zine can also be found in the following zine libraries: *London College of Communication Zine Library, *Salford Zine Library, *Rotherham Zine Library, *Canny Little Library (Newcastle)

///



I'm always on the lookout for new places to stock the zine, do get in touch if you'd like to distro any copies

ghosts of the river - graphic novel on immigration

From Favianna Rodriguez's website:


I need your help to make a Graphic Novel - Please Donate!
I've taken on a new challenge - to create a graphic novel! And I need your help.

To donate: http://www.shadowlightghosts.org


For the most part, I've focused my art practice on posters and prints, in which I tell a story in a single panel. But now, I'm stepping into a whole new area called the sequential narrative, also known as a comic book or graphic novel. Since April of this year, I have been begun work on a 60-page graphic novel that explores topics of migration, border enforcement, deportation, detention, and anti-immigrant violence.

This new venture is a continuation of the 2009 shadow puppet play, GHOSTS OF THE RIVER, my first theatrical collaboration with ShadowLight Productions and Octavio Solis. Working in shadow puppet theater was my first introduction to the combinaton of motion and image, and I was instantly hooked! (photo on right from play)

The next phase of this collaboration is to take the stories to a graphic format. I will restage some of the original stories from the play, converting them into a graphic novel, mixing images from the original stage production and exploring new graphic styles. The stories range from a fantastical ghost revenge story to a heart-wrenching story of a Chicano boy’s lost summer as he faced racism for the first time. Some stories will follow the frame-by-frame comic book style while others will incorporate various printmaking approaches most employed in my work, such as linoleum block print, wood block, and monoprint.

For this project I am fusing my expertise in printmaking with sequential storytelling, which is allowing me to develop a poignant body of work around the current immigration crisis.

I need your help to make this book a reality. I have secured a grant for $10,000 from the East Bay Community Foundation. The catch is that the award has to be matched dollar to dollar ONLY with contributions from individual donors such as yourself! I am raising the funds with the producer of this project, ShadowLight Productions.

Visit here to donate: http://www.shadowlightghosts.org/

The timing for this project is urgent, with migrants being deported at an alarming rate of 1,100 per day. Much of the public dialogue is still laced with hate, stereotypes, violence and fear. My graphic novel will share real, human stories and provide an opportunity for readers to understand the complexity of how anti-immigrant laws affect people through the vehicle of visual art and graphic storytelling. I am confident that a pop culture medium, such as the graphic novel, is the perfect next step for me as an artist.

Thank you so much for your consideration. Love, Justice and Art!

the quiet rrriot, seattle

from my inbox...

3 of my favourites - I'm obscenely jealous of all that attend!



Grrrl Heroes Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure & Stella Marrs at Fantagraphics Bookstore‏

Saturday, July 9
6:00 to 9:00 PM
"The Quiet Rrriot," an examination of the Riot Grrrl zine scene featuring original art, prints, and products by Megan Kelso, Nikki McClure and Stella Marrs.
This exhibition marks the debut of the new edition of Queen of the Black Black, short stories from Kelso’s seminal comix zine Girlhero.

Kelso and McClure will discuss their work in the context of Olympia’s Riot Grrrl movement at 7:00 PM, followed by a book signing and reception.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S, Vale Street (at Airport Way S.) in the heart of Seattle’s historic Georgetown arts community

zine fest roundup

Red Chidgey's round-up of last month's Zine Fest! at The Women's Library, London can be found here: http://feministmemory.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/zinefest-roundup

the listener

From my inbox from David Lester...


My graphic novel THE LISTENER, about art, history, life, love and politics is now out. A beautifully printed first edition (312 pages).
You can take a peak at it here: http://thelistenergraphicnovel.wordpress.com/

If you are inspired to buy a copy for yourself, or as a gift for a friend, or family member, see details below. And please pass this message on to other people you think might be interested.

Available from Amazon.UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Listener-David-Lester/dp/1894037480

thanks and take care,
David

PS: The Listener has been selected as one of the best books of 2011, so far, by the School Library Journal (New York).

A few reviews of The Listener:

"A dense and fiercely intelligent work that asks important questions about art, history, and the responsibility of the individual, all in a lyrical and stirring tone." -- Publishers Weekly (New York)

"This demands to be added to any shelf on which Anne Frank’s Diary, as well as Maus or Miriam Katin’s We Are on Our Own are available." -- School Library Journal (New York)

"... a meditative, memorable graphic novel." -- Baltimore City Paper (Baltimore, MD)

"Lots of depth, lots of great imagery." -- Comic Attack (Los Angeles, CA)

"Lester’s drawing is wonderfully expressive and the book is an intense and well-structured look at a forgotten pivotal moment in history..." -- Sequential (Canada)

The Listener by David Lester (Arbeiter Ring Publishing) $19.95, ISBN: 9781894037488

ISHO feminist art exhibition

From my inbox...


I'S SHES HERS and OURS Feminist Art show
The Gallery, Edwards Lane, Off Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0JS
9th - 23rd July, Weds to Sun.
Private Views 8th July, 6-9pm, 17th July, 1.30 - 4.30pm.

57 women artists show their feminisms.
From 12 different countries, all ages.

Free events, 23rd July, How do I figure, and ArtSpeak.

Opening times: Wed and Fri, 11 - 6pm; Thurs 11 - 7pm; Sat 11 -5pm; Sun 1 - 5pm.
Nearest tube Angel,Manor house, Highbury + bus.
141, 341, 73, 476, 149, 67, 243, 393.

http://73women.webs.com/