Leeds Arts University are once again proud sponsors of Thought Bubble, Yorkshire’s Comic Art Festival, taking place from 8–14 November.
Thought Bubble is a week-long celebration of comics, illustration and more which takes place in venues across Yorkshire and includes a huge two-day comic convention held at the Harrogate Convention Centre on the 13 and 14 November.
Image: Detail from Thought Bubble Window display at Travelling Man, Leeds.
Students from across undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses will be taking place in a range of events and exhibitions throughout the festival including:
Who Would Read a Comic Like This?
1–15 November, Belgrave Music Hall
An exhibition from BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art, MA Graphic Novel and MA Worldbuilding, exploring the diversity in comic readership.
Travelling Man Window Display
7–15 November, Travelling Man Leeds
Thought Bubble and Leeds Arts University have teamed up to commission recent graduates to create a window display at Travelling Man, Leeds. Graduates Will Huck, BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art, and Flo Daisy, BA (Hons) Illustration have been have been busy installing the window mural which will remain on display throughout the festival.
Thought Bubble Comic Convention
13–14 November, Harrogate Convention Centre
Students from across the University will be exhibiting and selling their work at Thought Bubble Comic Convention in the Comixology Originals Hall on tables 129 and 130. The exhibition planning and setup has been organised by the student committee and includes work from BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art, MA Graphic Novel, MA Worldbuilding and MA Illustration, and selected students from other courses including BA (Hons) Creative Writing.
Image: Alumni Will Huck and Flo Daisy installing the window display at Travelling Man.
Our BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art lecturers will also be exhibiting at the convention, including Mark Penman, (table 62) and James Lawrence (table 117) in the Comixology Hall, Will Morris (table 86) in the Redshirt Hall and John Pearson (table 132) in the Bubbleboy Hall.
Finally, our very own Doctor Simpo has also provided a free downloadable copy of his latest creation Things and Stuff Book 2, which includes the winning entries from the comic competition held at Thought Bubble 2020.
John Pearson, Senior Lecturer BA (Hons) Comic and Concept Art said: “Leeds Arts University has an excellent relationship with Thought Bubble, and this year we've continued to build on it with collaborative events such as our exhibition with Belgrave Music Hall, and the cross-course alumni commission at Travelling Man. It's incredible to see our students presenting at such a high level at the start of their careers, and I can't wait to see how visitors to the convention are going to react to the work they've produced."
Thought Bubble Comic Art festival opens on Monday 8 November and runs until Sunday 14 November. Find out more here.