The Graphic Medicine International Collective is thrilled by the content and reception of our first online conference!
The “UnConvention” as we called it, whose unorthodox theme and form were created in response to the unconventional circumstances in which we are currently living, carried the energy of creative exchange that usually suffuses our annual gathering into 2021 in a different, yet still incredibly inspiring, form. Creators from throughout the world submitted one-minute videos that addressed graphic medicine work in the wide range of our engagements.
On Friday, August 13, we began with a half-day session in which we formally introduced the formation of the Graphic Medicine International Collective, a 501c3 not for profit organization with a mission to guide and support the use of comics in health.
Each founding board member had the opportunity to introduce themselves and their work.
We then screened five sample videos from the conference. The creators have been kind enough to let us share their videos here.
This opening session was followed by a very special Drawing Together with guest host Gem Li. You can experience the exercises from that session here.
On Saturday and Sunday, ten separate sessions screened 103 videos and held discussions with their creators. Sessions detailed projects using comics to process trauma, provide mental health education, share personal health narratives, address the COVID-19 pandemic, and use graphic medicine as a pedagogical, communication, and connection tool.
If you’d like to see more on these sessions, search social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) for #GraphMed21. We did not record these sessions. We do, however, have a public “bulletin board” from the conference where information was also shared.
At our final session, a closing video was screened to highlight much of what was shared publicly about the conference, and our heartfelt thank you’s.
And a special announcement about the 2022 conference was made. You can watch that announcement here. More to come on this topic ASAP!
This is soo amazing! I am working on introducing the comic medium to my current work as an Instructional Designer for Healthcare Training in Seattle. I look forward to the next convention in Chicago.