Events 2020
Zoom events will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5DCjps2IAPcWVdgvQOEhdQ
Keynote Speaker: Tonya Ingram
NOVEMBER 13, 5-6pm CST
Tonya Ingram is a poet, Cincinnati native, Bronx-bred introvert, mental health advocate, kidney transplant hopeful, Lupus legend, cat auntie, and lover of Tom Hardy and “The Office.”
​
Tonya has graced the stages of The Getty Museum, Madison Square Garden, San Francisco Opera House, Nuyorican Poets Café, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lexus Verses and Flow’s variety show, and “The Price is Right*,” the online and physical pages of The New York Times, Vice i-D, Bustle, and Marie Claire, and the classrooms of schools in the United States and Ghana, just to name a few. her viral collaboration with BuzzFeed, “An Open Letter to My Depression,” has reached over 4 million views and counting.
​
A friend, creative, daydreamer, and Virgo, Tonya’s writing explores the necessity in taking care of ourselves, especially on the days we feel unworthy. She is a graduate of New York University and Otis College of Art and Design. Tonya currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
​
HOW TO SURVIVE TODAY is her third book of poetry.
PhotoArt Walking Tour: Nika Lucks
NOVEMBER 7, 1-2pm CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/photoarturbana
Learn Photography tips and photograph local art in Downtown Urbana with local artist Nika Lucks!
​
Starting point: Meet in Common ground Food Co-op Hallway, Lincoln square
​
12:45pm Check In, Tour starts at 1
​
Temperature Check and Rules
* Must wear a mask and keep with state safety guidelines
* Limit 15 people. Registration required.
We will be walking to all locations.
Participants will view and learn about sculptures and murals in Urbana. Learn Photography tips and photograph local art in Downtown Urbana.
​
No experience needed. Please bring camera (phone or professional camera).
Introduction to Manga: Kofi Bazzell-Smith
NOVEMBER 12, 5-7PM CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/kofimanga
Manga is the Japanese sequential art form, traditionally drawn in black and white, that combines story with cinematic visual design and spans multiple genres. A unique iteration of the graphic narrative imbued with Japanese sensibilities, history, and cultural idiosyncrasies, manga’s appeal led the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to found the International Manga Award “for the purpose of expanding international exchange and mutual understanding.”
​
Kofi’s manga workshop covers the traditional Japanese 4-arc plot structure, Kishotenketsu, which is not taught outside of Japan.
​
Kofi Bazzell-Smith is an artist and competitive boxer. A U.S.-Japan Bridging Scholar, he has studied manga in Japan and teaches lectures and workshops on manga storytelling and techniques. His goals are to increase Black representation in the form and to build international bridges.
In Pursuit of Smut: Collecting
South Asian Comics, Zines, and Erotica
NOVEMBER 12, 7-8pm CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/indianzines
South Asian Studies & Global Popular Culture Librarian Mara Thacker will talk about her work building the largest collection of South Asian comics in a research library. She will share some of her favorite collection highlights (including items from her personal collection) and talk about how the collection has expanded over the years to include zines and erotica. Finally, she will reflect on the value popular collections bring to libraries and the ongoing challenges libraries will need to address as they move forward with this work
Dr. Spencer Keralis will talk about their experience researching queer zines from the late 80s and early 90s, and will describe efforts to preserve these ephemeral objects, including his reflections on his residency at the Queer Zine Archive Project. They’ll discuss the boom in zine culture in the 90s due to desktop publishing, show off some zines from his collection, and share some patterns for making your own zines.
U-C Comics Colloquium Fro-Yo-Social
NOVEMBER 13, 12-1pm CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/comicsfroyo
Join the U-C Comics Colloquium for a socially distanced social. Enjoy the snack (frozen or otherwise) of your choice and talk comics, zines, and other small press stuff with the students, scholars, librarians, and creators who make up the Urbana-Champaign comics studies community.
![small press fest[8].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/82981e_1d7afa06f9394cc7b837085d688eff01~mv2.png/v1/crop/x_68,y_0,w_1592,h_1934/fill/w_280,h_340,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/small%20press%20fest%5B8%5D.png)
Non-conventional Storytelling with UMMA
NOVEMBER 13, 3-4pm CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/ummastorytelling
From oral, to written or drawn to embroidered, come learn about how the most subtle information is shared and cherished across the world
Virtual Dance Party
with DJ Baub!
NOVEMBER 13, 6-7pm CST
Step away from the computer (but not too far!) and get moving! DJ Baub will host a virtual dance party to shake the zoom away.
Hike with Midwest Explorer!
NOVEMBER 14, 10-11am CST
Register: https://tinyurl.com/midwesthike
Enjoy a fall hike with Sara Johnson, editor of the Midwest Explorer zine and botanist.
​
Get some fresh air and discover the late fall landscape!
Masks and social distancing required. Limit of 15 people, so please register!
Urbana Small Press Fest Walking Map
NOVEMBER 14, anytime
This activity leads you through crafting and writing your own walking tour map zine of Urbana.
​
1. Grab a zine kit from the art coop (first 40 people get a free kit!)
2. Make your zine (download printable directions here)
3. Open the map: https://rb.gy/makeaf
4. Go to each of the spots on the map and look at the map to get writing and drawing prompts
5. Add new points of interest to your Walking Urbana Zine
6. Share with us! #SPF2020 on Instagram
