Workshops and talks that deep dive into comic creation, the industry and more. Perfect for aspiring creators, academics, professionals or other enthusiasts.
All talks are free to attended. Secure your spot by booking a ticket below.
Walk-ins are welcome on the day with limited capacity.
These events are part of the annual Perth Comic Arts Festival, a completely free to attend, volunteer run celebration of comics, their creators and readers.
INTRODUCTION
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 10:00am – 10:45am
Welcome to the 2025 Perth Comic Arts Festival Academy Day! Find a seat, settle in and get yourself oriented to the day’s schedule. It’s going to be a wild ride, but our hosts are here to make sure you’re comfortable for it.
Featuring: Campbell Whyte, Sarah Winifred Searle and Walter McGuire
THE POWER OF COMICS
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 11:00am – 11:45am
Join us in conversation with the explosive Stick Mob Studio, the celebrated collective of storytellers from Mparntwe-Alice Springs as they discuss how they create comics to reconfigure reality. Through the power of comics, they reimagine different times, places, and identities and challenge deficit narratives of growing up Arrernte in central Australia.
Featuring: Declan Miller, Wendy Cowan, Seraphina Newberry and Alyssa Mason.
THE MANGA UNDERGROUND
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
It’s time to stray from the beaten path with Atsushi Kaneko as he leads us on a journey away from the shiny bubblegum stories of mainstream manga to the punk, political underground of the alternative manga scene. Kaneko Sensei’s work has always sought to challenge the status quo, in the stories he tells and the visual inspiration he works from.
Featuring: Atsushi Kaneko, Aude Yukiko and Campbell Whyte
IDEA CATCHING
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 2:00pm – 2:45pm
Internationally acclaimed creator Lorena Alvarez Gómez will take us behind the scenes of her creative process, how she gathers ideas and sorts them into the first draft of a story. From the twice Eisner nominated Nightlights to award winning Hicotea and beyond, Lorena’s unmistakable comics vibrate with sumptuous colour, bold shapes and charming characters.
Featuring: Lorena Alvarez Gómez and Elizabeth Marruffo
CHASING A VISION
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 3:00pm – 3:45pm
It’s time to celebrate, as Gestalt Publishing turns 20!
Since 2005, the team at Gestalt have been pursuing, publishing and promoting the best of Australian comics. From the Netflix adapted The Deep, the fantasy anthology Talgard, the philosophical exploration Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to the comic adaptation of the ABC series Clever Man, Gestalt’s catalogue is as diverse as it is unique.
Join Gestalt founders Wolfgang Bylsma and Skye Ogden and creators Katie Houghton-Ward and Scott Wilson as they look back on how the company started, the trials and tribulations of publishing and forward to the future of Australian comics.
Featuring: Wolfgang Bylsma, Skye Ogden, Katie Houghton-Ward and Scott Wilson.
LOVE AND BRIMSTONE
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 4:00pm – 4:45pm
What drives creativity? What fires burn deep in our souls? What keeps us getting up every day and pushing forward?
We ask seven comic makers about the role LOVE and BRIMSTONE plays in their careers and how we can draw energy from both of them to fuel our creative works.
Featuring: Aude Yukiko, Lorena Alvarez Gómez, Oscar McKay, Steven Martellotta, Sarah Winifred Searle, Dandelion Chambers, Jorden Allen-Barr.
ENDTRODUCTION
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 5:00pm – 5:15pm
So long! Goodbye!
EXHIBITION OPENING- GESTALT COMICS: THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS
Location: State Library of WA – Theatrette
Date: Saturday 12th July
Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Join us in launching the GESTALT COMICS: THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS exhibition at the State Library of Western Australia.
This exhibition celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the iconic publisher, Gestalt, whose tireless work championing First Nations storytellers and the comics medium has created profound change in the Australian literary landscape.
This exhibition explores the pivotal moments of the publisher while highlighting the best of Australian comics that are sure to inspire, excite and delight.
Featuring: Wolfgang Bylsma, Scott Wilson, Skye Ogden, Katie Houghton-Ward, Declan Miller, Wendy Cowan, Seraphina Newberry and Alyssa Mason.
