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On the blog: curator Olivia Ahmad explores the unique landscape that produced the rich and diverse works in our exhibition A New Childhood: Picture Books from Soviet Russia

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“People like to look at beautiful things, but once they're drawn in they can get shocked”

Catherine Anyango on Comix Creatrix, Heart of Darkness and representing history.

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Happy International Women’s Day!

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It is an honour to be a part of this exhibition alongside some amazing other artists all in aid of the Women’s charity Refuge, a charity for abused women and children, called ‘She Lights Up The Night’. 

Although hard to see in still photography, for the show I created 4 Lenticular artworks that flip between an original magazine cover and my doodle-bombed/illustrated version (exhibited on the above photograph next to the awesome Charlie Patterson).

Next thursday Christies will be holding an auction to sell all the artworks and raise money for Refuge. You can read more about this incredible project/exhibition here.

Other artists involved include Camille Walala, Anthony Burrill, Jordy Van Den Nieuwendijk, Ana Montiel, Supermundane and many more

For more information about Refuge please visit http://www.refuge.org.uk/ or if you require any help or support you can call their 24 hour National Domestic Violence Hotline on 0808 2000 247. You can find more links and useful numbers here

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Icons for a modern monument.

Crossing Time is an illuminated installation inspired by King’s Cross - see it after sundown in Granary Square

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Next Thurs! Feminism! Beer!

Tickets!

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COMIX CREATRIX AT THE HOUSE OF ILLUSTRATION

The House of Illustration dispels the myth that the world of comics is a male dominated affair in their latest exhibition Comix Creatrix. The title’s unusual spelling borrows from the underground comic scene that emerged in the late 1960s, but this show goes much further than the well-known heyday of counterculture zines to show an incredible array of work made from 100 different women between the 1800s and now.

Beginning in a firmly historical setting, the first gallery highlights groundbreaking careers such as that of Jackie Ormes, who introduced the USA to its first black female leads including Torchy Brown in the Pittsburg Courier in the 1930s. Although the strip followed the well-known trope of a modern woman looking for love it also focused on environmental, social and civil rights issues.

The show also showcases artists that are telling often overlooked stories of cultural and gender identity. Leela Corman’s Unterzakhn reveals the life of Jewish immigrant twin sisters who are struggling to get by on the Lower East Side circa 1910, while Jackie Fleming’s The Trouble With Women examines why there are so few historical records of some of history’s most powerful and influential women.

The success of this show also lies in the fact that there is such an enormously rich variety of graphic styles, both in their visuals and story-telling narratives. One one side you have the exquisite, densely coloured artwork of Fay Dalton’s Reaper Files, while on the other the bold, gestural lines of Kate Beaton’s Borgias. Such a well-rounded selection of graphic novels, daily strips and zines is a testament to the female creators of today and their older counterparts, and will certainly leave you with a long reading list.

All images © the artists

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Yes please.

Whoaaa look Comix Creatrix is open and runs til 15th May and is a broad + v significant collection of work that shouldn’t be missed. There’s also everything else/not included and it all feels so overwhelming right now that I don’t know where to even start - I’ll probably end up trying to write some thoughts down on this soon, it would be amazing to open up a critical discussion on all this / hear any thoughts!

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Panel from work I’m showing @ Comix Creatrix alongside work from Audrey Niffenegger, Trina Robbins, Lynda Barry, Aline Kominsky Crumb and many, many others as part of Women Making Comics @illustrationhq …open now and on til 15th May!

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On the House of Illustration blog: Comix Creatrix Curators’ Q&A

Female artists working in the past have certainly been unfairly forgotten and deserve to be recognised. I don’t think women working today need to be given an exhibition exactly (they are doing their thing with gusto!), but I think the work they have done and are doing commands one.

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Had a lovely time catching up with people at the #comixcreatrix launch at the House of Illustration tonight. The exhibition opens tomorrow and is a must see if you are in London anytime soon! (at House of Illustration)

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You heard the man! Runs now - 15 May

Just went to the showing of Comix Creatrix which was astounding. Go see it.

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Earlier this morning, news broke that the list of 30 nominees for this year’s Grand Prix d'Angouleme was announced, and did not include a single female creator. The Grand Prix is a lifetime achievement award, and the winner is named president of the following year’s Angouleme International Comics Festival. In the event’s 43-year history, just one woman, Florence Cestac, has been awarded the Grand Prix. Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and Posy Simmonds (Gemma Bovery, Tamara Drewe) have been among those nominated in years past. 

In the wake of today’s announcement, Fantagraphics Books and Daniel Clowes endorse the French group BD Egalite in its call for a boycott on voting for this year’s list, and Clowes has announced that he will withdraw from consideration as a result. 

“I support the boycott of Angouleme and am withdrawing my name from any consideration for what is now a totally meaningless ‘honor.’ What a ridiculous, embarrassing debacle,” says Clowes.

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I’ve been dying to turn my 2D doodlebomb magazine covers into a 3D reality for a while now so it’s freakin dreeeam to do it for my @stylistmagazine issue 👅❤✏️️ There’ll be more of this to come in the future! 👀☝🏼️😎 #watchthisspace @matthewshave @natashatomalin @clare_lille @kimroyhair @lucytuckernails @illamasqua @rebecca_bisset ❤️

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Tomorrow!

Up Your Street? Plenty of time to get a copy of Up My Street, Louise Lockhart’s beautiful concertina book. Stretching out to 148 cms, with shops on one side, their counters and owners on the reverse. Available via link in profile and at the Illustrator’s Fair, this Sat, at Granary Square, Kings Cross. #upmystreet #louiselockhart #concertinabook #shoplocal #illustrationhq #illustratorsfair

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we got some great interview footage with Chris about E.H. Shepard - it’ll be featured in our Shepard exhibition this autumn!

Laureate log.