Rhode Island College to Host Comic Art Conference
Monday, January 24, 2011
With an eye toward this cutting-edge aspect of education, Rhode Island College will host the New England Comic Arts in the Classroom (NECAC) Conference on Saturday, March 26. The conference offers K-12 and pre-service teachers an introduction to the richness of using comic art and graphic novels in their classrooms as well as specific methods and rationales for incorporating sequential art and visual storytelling into their curriculum. The conference is open to teachers, teacher candidates, librarians, artists, comic art scholars and others interested in learning more about the increasing prominence of the graphic art and comic medium.
High-profile keynote speakers
Two keynote speakers will address the conference – Raina Telgemeier, author and creator of the true, coming-of-age story, "Smile" (shown left), and Michael Bitz, executive director of The Comic Book Project, an arts-based literacy and learning initiative funded by the non-profit Center for Educational Pathways.
Professional development workshops by K-16 educators and artists will also be offered, including two one-hour sessions in the morning and a menu of workshops and panels in the afternoon.
Well-known artists attending
Among those presenting will be Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of Archie Comics; Tracy White, author of "How I Made it to 18"; Jessica Abel, author of "La Perdida" (featured above) and "ArtBabe"; and James “Bucky” Carter, editor of "Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel."
The NECAC Conference is directed by Jennifer Cook, RIC professor and executive director of the Rhode Island Writing Project, and Michael Gianfrancesco of North Providence High School. It is sponsored by Rhode Island College, the RIC Art Education Program, the Providence After School Alliance, Archie Comics and the Rhode Island Writing Project.
Registration is $30 for teachers, $15 for students, and is available online at http://www.necac.net/registration. CEUs are available. For further information, contact Jennifer Cook ([email protected]) or Michael Gianfrancesco ([email protected]).
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