José Alaniz, Frank Bramlett, Casey Brienza, Cecile Danehy, Charles Hatfield, Bill Kartalopoulos, Toph Marshall, Arturo Meijide Lapido, Jeff Miller, Mark Nevins, Elizabeth Nijdam, Osvaldo Oyola, Brittany Tullis, Qiana Whitted
The International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) is an academic conference and international comics convention. The mostly annual event has been described as one of the earliest academic initiatives in comics studies.[1]
ICAF has been described as "primarily a scholarly conference where papers on various aspects of comics around the world are presented."[2] In addition to academics, practicing cartoonists are invited to present and discuss their work. Generally, the conference takes place on a Thursday through Saturday, with specialized academic presentations held on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturdays featuring more festival-style programming aimed at a broader audience.
Since 2005, each ICAF has seen the presentation of the John A. Lent Award in Comics Studies to "...a current student who has authored, or is in the process of authoring, a substantial research-based writing project about comics."[3]
History
Origins: French embassy and Georgetown University
The International Comics and Animation Festival was founded in 1995[4] as a one-off event, conceived by Tristan Fonlladosa, a cultural attaché of the French Embassy, who proposed the idea to the Department of French at Georgetown University. Fonlladosa collaborated closely with Georgetown Professor Guy Spielmann, who played a pivotal role in organizing the conference by recruiting guests with academic backgrounds, thereby elevating the scholarly dimension of the event.[5]
The second event in 1996 was another collaboration between Georgetown and the French embassy/Alliance Française.[5] On a larger scale, this iteration of ICAF coincided with a traveling exhibition of European comics artists and the year's centennial celebration of American newspaper comic strips.[6]
Affiliation with SPX
Fonlladosa left the U.S. after 1996, and Spielmann coordinated the 1997 show solo, while also organizing the creation of the ICAF Executive Committee to perpetuate the show.[5]
From 1997 to 2000, as well as 2002 and 2004, ICAF was held in conjunction with the local area Small Press Expo (SPX).[7][8] Typically, on Saturdays, ICAF programming centered on artist-centered activities, including discussions with and presentations by cartoonists from both Europe and America.[5]
In 1998, the fourth iteration of the event, The Comics Journal devoted a section of an issue to coverage of the event.[9]
From 1999 to 2002, the conference highlighted young alternative cartoonists, dubbed "New Voices."
From 2005 to 2007, ICAF was co-sponsored by the Library of Congress.[12] The 2005 event — the tenth iteration — included a symposium tribute to Will Eisner, who had died earlier in the year.[13]
During those years, an annual tradition included showcasing original cartoon artwork in the Library's Prints and Photographs Reading Room, with short-term exhibitions curated by Sara Duke and Martha Kennedy. Additionally, during this period, ICAF collaborated with George Washington University at their Gelman Library, organizing numerous artist presentations and a panel addressing the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[5]
In 2006 the event changed its name to the International Comic Arts Forum.[14]
New locations
After 2007, ICAF began being held in various locations outside of the Washington, D.C. area. In 2008 and 2009, the conference was held at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There were no ICAF conferences held in 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, or 2022.
^Nevins, Mark D. (2000). "An Introduction to ICAF: the International Comic Arts Festival". Expo 2000. Bethesda, Maryland: The Expo. pp. 253–254.
^Dean, Michael (Mar 2003). "SPX Suffers Identity Crisis: Venue Uncertainty, Communications Problems Precipitate Resignations". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 251. pp. 11–16. — about the Small Press Expo and its relationships with ICAF and the Baltimore Comic-Con.
^Rodman, Larry (Nov 1998). "The Fourth International Comics and Animation Festival: A Ground-Level Report". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 208. pp. 28–36.
^"SPX/ICAF Cancelled in Wake of Terrorist Attacks on New York and Washington DC". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 238. Oct 2001. p. 100.
^"Bay Area: Left Coast Expo Defines Community in Time of Crisis". The Comics Journal. No. 238. Oct 2001. p. 102.
^"ICAF Moves to Library of Congress". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 267. Apr–May 2005. p. 41.
^Farrell, Alan. "Dimitri: a Pilgrim in the Gulag". International Comics and Animation Festival.
^"Georgetown Set to Host International Festival". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 188. July 1996. p. 15.
^Rodman, Larry (Nov 1996). "Social Studies: European Comics and the International Comics and Animation Festival". The Comics Journal. No. 191. pp. 29–34.
^Rodman, Larry (Oct 1997). "The Third Annual International Comics and Animation Festival". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 199. pp. 25–31.
^Rhode, Michael (Nov 2000). "Voices from ICAF: an Art Form on the Horizon". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 228. pp. 25–29.
^Rodman, Larry; Rhode, Michael (Nov 2002). "ICAF 2002: Subjective Impressions from a Jam-Packed Weekend". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 248. pp. 18–20.
^Rhode, Michael (Oct 2003). "The Eighth International Comic Arts Festival (ICAF) 2003". News Watch. The Comics Journal. No. 256. pp. 17–19.
^Rodman, Larry (Nov–Dec 2004). "SPX Realigned with ICAF and Extra-Politicized in 2004". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 264. p. 42.
^Fischer, Craig (Nov–Dec 2004). "International Comic Arts Festival Draws International Creators, Theorists". Newswatch: Journal Datebook. The Comics Journal. No. 264. pp. 41–42.
^Massey, Bob (October 13–16, 2005). "Superheroes to the Rescue". The Express. pp. E1, E5.