Mark calendars for Sept. 30 to Oct. 3.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 1, 2021 — Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), the international showcase for cartoon art, is excited to announce its first group of headlining guests for the 2021 show. This year’s show will take place from September 30th to October 3rd and will feature a slate of both in-person and online events. CXC’s 2020 show was fully online and we are pleased to host some events in-person this year.
This year’s festival also will mark the debut of the Tom Spurgeon Award, named after CXC’s founding executive director, which will be awarded to someone who is not primarily a cartoonist and whose support of cartoonists and cartoon art enhanced the field in a lasting and measurable way.
The 7th annual festival will feature:
- Chris Samnee, known for his work on Daredevil, Fire Power and Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters;
- Victoria Jamieson, the author of Roller Girl and co-author of the acclaimed When Stars Are Scattered which she created with Omar Mohamed, who also will be a special guest;
- Lewis Trondheim, a co-founder of the independent publisher L’Association in France and a prolific comics creator, including his work as co-author of the Dungeon series;
- Shary Flenniken, a pioneering underground cartoonist known for Trots and Bonnie;
- And more to come!
“Every Fall the art community in Columbus comes together for CXC, and once again we’ve put together an incredible guest list of creators,” said Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director, and author of the Bone graphic novels. “Whether in person or online, we have events and activities planned for anyone who likes cartoons. Which is everyone!”
CXC will announce additional guests and a full slate of programming in the coming months.
CXC 2021 will mark a return to some in-person events following a show that was all online in 2020. Some events will be online only, and several of the in-person events also will be broadcast online. CXC will follow the city of Columbus’s health guidelines and the recommendations of its programming sponsors when determining any necessary precautions.
We will have more information in the coming months about which events will be in person and how to attend, and how to view online events. Follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) or check our website (cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org) for the latest.
One online event will be the CXC Expo, a part of CXC in which creators sell their work to the public. Similar to last year, the CXC Expo will be held online through CXC’s website and Discord Server. We are eager to return to an in-person Expo in 2022.
“It’s a challenge to plan in our ever changing health and safety environment. We appreciate the flexibility of our guests, presenting partners, donors and audience as we balance our desire for in-person events with proper protocols,” said Jerzy Drozd, CXC’s interim executive director.
The new Tom Spurgeon Award is named after CXC’s founding executive director who died in 2019 and was a champion of the cartoon arts. The award, suggested by Tom’s family, will be a way to honor an individual who has made substantial contributions to the field but is not primarily a cartoonist.
“The breadth and depth of Tom’s experiences as a journalist, comics historian, and reporter make him the ideal model for an award celebrating the contributions of non-cartoonists to the field,” said Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University and a co-founder of CXC.
“Tom often talked about the need to formally recognize the many ways non-cartoonists have advanced the art form,” said Rebecca Perry Damsen, president of CXC’s board of directors. “We are happy to be able to realize his dream of his with the Spurgeon Award.”
CXC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that draws together Columbus educational and arts organizations including the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus College of Art & Design, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Columbus Metropolitan Library. We are generously supported by the Greater Columbus Arts Council
CXC aims to provide an international showcase for the best of cartoon art in all its forms, including comics, animation, editorial cartoons, newspaper strips, and beyond, in a city that is a growing center of importance to comics and cartooning. The festival also focuses on helping the next generation of young talent develop careers that invigorate the industry for years to come.
