Other Heroes: African American comics
creators, characters & archetypes is an exhibition of comics
and comics-inspired artwork. It will be on display April 5-25,
2007 in the Jackson State University Art Gallery, Dollye M.E.
Robinson School of Liberal Arts Building, Jackson, MS.
The show features an unprecedented group of African
American comics creators. From industry veterans Denys Cowan and
Trevor von Eeden, to critically acclaimed graphic novelists Kyle
Baker and Lance Tooks, to renowned editorial cartoonist Keith
Knight, to pioneering cartoonist Jackie Ormes, the list of over
40 participating artists contains a who’s-who of famed African
American sequential artists past and present.
In addition to showcasing the work of outstanding
African American comics professionals, Other Heroes brings to
the JSU Gallery a vast and diverse array of talented artists working
in a variety of media, (comics, photography, painting, and installation)
to make art that portrays and investigates African American issues.
“The show is centered around the empowerment of Black creators,
characters, and stories, the depictions of the Black image in
popular culture, and the reclamation of our images,” Other
Heroes co-curator Professor John Jennings said in a recent interview
with UVC Magazine.
“ We hope the exhibit and catalog will provide
a positive space to discuss the social, economic, psychological,
and philosophical impact of positive and negative racial representations,”
added co-curator and Eye Trauma Comix editor-in-chief Damian Duffy.
Other Heroes also represents an effort to raise
funds for the local community. All profits from the sale of the
Other Heroes catalog, soon to be published through print-on-demand
website Lulu.com, will be donated to Scholarship America for the
charity’s Disaster Relief Fund, which provides tuition support
to low income Gulf Coast students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
Other Heroes is made possible by The Jackson State
University Art Department, The University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
Research Board, The UIUC African-American Studies and Research
Program, and Eye Trauma Studios.
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