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guest post by Maja Milkowska-Shibata, recipient of a Peter James Burns Scholarship The annual Graphic Medicine Conference brings together individuals from a wide range of disciplines and motivations. Some participants conduct research on the role of comics in healthcare and use them as teaching tools. Some have already released or are working on autobiographical comics. Others simply want to connect with people who have gone through similar experiences of illness or trauma. Personally, I have been learning about the field of graphic medicine for over a year now. In Aprill 2022, I stumbled upon MK Czerwiec’s Taking Turns: Stories from… Read More

The Graphic Medicine International Collective (GMIC) is thrilled to announce the winners of the GMIC Awards for outstanding health-related comic projects completed and/or published in 2022. This award is made possible by a generous matching gift in Honor of Nancy and Herbert Wolf, and is intended to honor and carry on their legacy of service and care. You can read more about Nancy and Herbert here. For the long form category, the shortlist can be seen here.   In this year’s long form comic winner, Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars, author Rick Louis shares the story of his… Read More

Weaving Our Worldview Using Graphic Medicine: Panel Discussion on the Generational Experiences of First Nation Health Research featuring Justice Seidel, Greg Spence, Rachel Corston, and Sahr Wali moderated by Jane Zhao Saturday July 15, 2pm ET Along the mouth of the Moose River resides the island of Moose Factory, gateway to the Arctic and home of the Moose Cree people. For centuries, Moose Factory has been a gathering site, extending its relations to Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples within the region. Although each community may differ in their unique culture and values, they are connected through a shared past of strength…. Read More

“Arranging Pretty: Piecing Together Medicine Dreams” Keynote address by Lisa Boivin, Friday July 14, 7pm ET Lisa Boivin is a member of the Deninu Kue First Nation in Denendeh (Northwest Territories). She is an interdisciplinary artist and the first Indigenous PhD candidate at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Lisa uses images as a pedagogical tool to bridge gaps between medical ethics and aspects of Indigenous cultures and worldviews. She paints, collages and orates image-based stories that address the colonial barriers Indigenous patients navigate in the current healthcare system. Lisa strives to humanize clinical medicine as… Read More

“Sex Is a Funny Word: The Power of Comics to Hold Bodies, Intimacy, Trauma, and Joy” keynote presentation by Cory Silverberg & Fiona Smyth, Friday July 14, 9am In this interactive keynote address and conversation, cartoonist/educator Fiona Smyth and sex educator and author Cory Silverberg will talk about their 10+ year collaboration on their award winning series of books about sex and gender for young people. Cory Silverberg: Raised in the 1970s by a children’s librarian and a sex therapist, Cory grew up to be a sex educator, author, and queer person who smiles a lot when they talk. Cory… Read More

The opening evening of this year’s Graphic Medicine conference will feature Michael DeForge in conversation with Alex Thomas. Michael DeForge lives in Toronto, Ontario. He worked as a designer on Adventure Time for six seasons. His illustrations have been featured in Jacobin, The New York Times, The Believer, The LA Times, and The Walrus. His published books include Ant Colony, Dressing, Big Kids, Brat, Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, Stunt, Familiar Face, Leaving Richard’s Valley, Heaven No Hell and Birds of Maine. He’s written for SSENSE and Lux Magazine. His Instagram is @michaeldeforgecomics  

The Drawing Together community convened again on Sunday, March 26. Our session was led by Heidi Breuer. Heidi’s day-job involves teaching medieval and early modern literature, speculative fiction, and comics, but her free time is filled with writing and drawing. Check her out on IG (@iliketododrawrings) or at her website:  https://comicsbyheidi.weebly.com/. You can draw along with the prompts on the video below, pausing to do the writing and drawing, setting your own timer. If you’d like to share your work from this session, please tag your drawings #DrawingTogetherGM on social media.

Own Your Health Data Hungry Ghost Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story Jewish Women in Comics: Bodies and Borders

This session was not recorded. It was led by Dakota Lane. Dakota is a transmedia artist, young adult author, former NY Times videographer, and maker of music videos. She directs a creative and mindful program for high risk youth in an emergency residential agency as part of an anti-gun violence initiative. She and her clients work with word and image, using comics, simple animation, observing and fantasy exercises. You can find more about Dakota’s work at Dakotalane.org and on Instagram @paperartword and @forestmeditations Dakota offered several exercises based on the creative and mindful work she does with at-risk kids, including a multi-panel… Read More