The November convention will celebrate Jewish culture and its impact on the world of comics and pop culture
The Center for Jewish History (CJH), home to the world’s largest and most comprehensive archive of the modern Jewish experience outside of Israel, announced a convention dedicated to celebrating Jewish culture and its impact on the world of comics and pop culture later this year.
The Jewish Comics Experience (“JewCE”) is slated for November 11-12, 2023 at the Center for Jewish History in New York City, and will bring together fans, creators, and industry professionals to explore the rich history and contributions of diverse Jewish creators and characters in the comics medium.
Events over the two days will include panel discussions with a range of special guests, including Trina Robbins – a comic-book artist and “herstorian” since the earliest days of the underground comix movement in the 1960s and the first female artist to draw Wonder Woman – as the guest of honor. There will also be workshops, screenings, a silent auction, a Jewish Comics Experience exhibit, and an awards ceremony.
“The JewCE convention is not only unique in its attention to the Jewish origins of and influence on the comics industry,” said Dr. Miriam Mora, Director of Academic and Public Programs at the Center for Jewish History and Co-Creator, JewCE. “It’s a love letter to the creators themselves, Jewish and non-Jewish, who have worked to include Jewish characters in their stories, to demonstrate Jewish diversity across the pages, and to provide a visual and cultural home for Jewish readers of all ages to feel seen, included, and embraced.”
Dr. Mora continued, “At times only perceptible to those in the know, Jews have long had a home between the covers of comic books of all sorts. JewCE brings that home to light, celebrating Jewish characters and creators of all ethnicities, nations of origin, religious observances, genders, sexual orientations, and political affiliations. Created within the walls of the Center for Jewish History, this convention invites fans and creators to attend an experience that bridges the enthusiasm of lifelong comic readers and collectors with the legitimacy of historical scholarship. You have truly never seen anything quite like this, and it is not to be missed.”
“The Jewish Comics Experience has what it takes to make it to the major league of comic conventions and I could not be more proud to be a part of it,” said Fabrice Sapolsky, co-creator, JewCE/FairSquare Comics. “Comic books, graphic novels, and sequential arts are amazing mediums to convey stories. This industry was founded by a group of young — mostly Jewish — creators in the 1930 and 40s. JewCE will keep honoring the past while promoting present-day storytellers and inspiring creators of tomorrow. It will be an inclusive journey into Jewish diversity through art and creativity.”
JewCE is created and hosted by the Center for Jewish History in New York City, which provides a collaborative home for five partner organizations that comprise the world’s largest and most comprehensive archive of the modern Jewish experience outside of Israel. The collections span five thousand years, with more than 5 miles of archival documents (in dozens of languages and alphabet systems), more than 500,000 volumes, as well as thousands of artworks, textiles, ritual objects, recordings, films, photographs, and even comic books.
An early waitlist for tickets is available at JewCE.org. Tickets for the convention will start at $40 per person with many fun, optional add-ons for an additional price. A Zoom option is available for $18 per person.
Sponsorship packages are still available. Please contact Dr. Miriam Mora for more information at miriam@cjh.org.
About the Center for Jewish History
The Center is the collaborative home of five in-house Partner organizations (American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research) whose collections comprise over five miles of archival documents in dozens of languages and alphabet systems, over 500,000 volumes of books, 9.1 million digital items, and thousands of artworks, objects, textiles, and recordings. Significant scholarship is regularly published using these materials, including award-winning studies that would have been impossible to write without access to them. The Center opens the collections to the public and democratizes access to them through exhibits, events, fellowships, and a host of free public archive and library services—including the archival preservation efforts of its laboratories.