Drawing from Experience: An Introduction to Graphic Medicine and Creating Autobiographical Comics

WORKSHOP

Drawing from Experience: An Introduction to Graphic Medicine and Creating Autobiographical Comics

$45 | General Admission
$35 | Surel’s Place Sustaining Member Admission (register with Special Passcode)
Partial scholarships are available by request to info@surelsplace.org.

In this workshop with Maja Milkowska-Shibata, we will explore the advantages of comics as a medium, highlighting their various applications, such as simplifying complex concepts to enhance understanding and knowledge retention. We invite participants to focus on personal encounters with illness and disability exploring the genre of graphic medicine. These applications will be illustrated with examples from published graphic medicine works, showcasing various visual styles and diverse authors.

As a hands-on exercise, the workshop participants will choose a memorable or challenging topic to transform into a short comic strip. We will start by developing a written narrative, which will then be adapted into a script and illustrated as a one-page zine. Participants will learn the basics of creating comics and relevant terminology. No drawing experience will be required, and participants will be able to use publicly available images for reference.

After completing the comic, we will discuss participants’ impressions of using a visual format to convey information, share experiences, and express emotions. Participants will be encouraged to complete and publish their works as zines, which can be copied and distributed at Surel’s Place community spaces, the local libraries, or submitted to short comic calls.