The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts will host BIPOC Pop 2024, a three-day event, March 7–9, that will create an extraordinary space for BIPOC creators, scholars, students, teachers, librarians, and industry innovators to explore and share as well as to build and solidify BIPOC alliances and strengthen community through the sharing of cutting-edge, creative, critical knowledge-making practices in the graphic storytelling arts. Awards will be given for Best Student Essay, Best Emerging Creator, Best Animated Short, Best Animated Doc., and Best Student Animated Short.
Workshops and panels will focus on topics such as Chicanofuturism, stories for youth empowerment, performing pop culture, history telling through zines, life tales, shaping new K–12 learning spaces, and more.
Esteemed presenters, workshop leaders, expo guests, and facilitators include high-profile players in the industry such as Chispa/Scout Comics publisher, Veronique Medrano, publisher; White House consultant and CEO of Ad Astra Media, José Morey, M.D.; award winning filmmaker and CEO of L21 Consulting, Ben Lopez; Marvel creator Kevin Garcia; award winning author, Harvard professor, and member of the Cherokee Nation, Daniel Justice; and, Angélique Roché, producer of Marvel’s Voices; among many others.
The event is the brainchild of Professor Frederick Luis Aldama, the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at UT Austin, who is also widely known as Professor Latinx. Aldama is a prolific writer, documentary filmmaker, and founder and director of UT Austin’s Latinx Pop Lab as well as the Latinx Pop Magazine.
BIPOC Pop came as a natural strategic move to put UT Austin on the map for the creating, teaching, and studying of Latinx/BIPOC comics, gaming, animation, and multimedia storytelling arts.
Dr. Aldama describes the impact of this trailblazing event: “We have lots of big cons across the country, but nothing that brings creatives, scholars, teachers, librarians, and industry leaders under one roof—and certainly nothing that puts BIPOC pop culture front and center. BIPOC POP shouts from rooftops that our stories matter. That we are vital shapers of culture at large!”
The symposium will take place March 7–9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Patton Hall Glickman Conference Center on the UT Austin Campus at 305 E. 23rd St. Partners include Ad Astra Media, UT’s Latino Studies, Project Males, University of North Texas, Texas Orange Jackets.
For more information on the event schedule and how to attend, visit the event website at www.bipocpop.com.
About the University of Texas at Austin College Liberal Arts
The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts is dedicated to promoting cutting-edge research that helps people better understand human history, society, and culture. With over forty majors, it is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive academic community in which all members are equally respected and valued.
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