A special event for art students at a Massachussettes library

The Greenfield Recorder covered a special project aimed at encouraging children to illustrate comics at a Sunderland library:

For many young readers, comics are a gateway into storytelling. From Monday, June 22, to Friday, June 26, the Sunderland Public Library is helping children take the next step from reading comics to creating their own.

Through a week of comics programming organized in partnership with the Boston Comics Arts Foundation (BCAF), local students will learn directly from professional cartoonists while exploring the fundamentals of visual storytelling. The program features award-winning graphic novelists Jarrett J. Krosoczka and Mike Curato, who will share their experiences as creators and encourage young artists to develop their own voices.

According to Deanna Soukiasian, cartoonist and education coordinator for the Boston Comics Arts Foundation’s Mass Makes Comics initiative, the program grew from a desire to make comics education accessible to more communities.

“In the community, there’s a growing desire for kids to learn visual literacy,” Soukiasian said. “Comics are for everybody, and learning is for everybody.”

Mass Makes Comics focuses on bringing educational opportunities to underfunded communities throughout Massachusetts. By partnering with libraries, artists and families, the organization works to ensure that students who are interested in comics have access to professional instruction regardless of their background.

Well that's great they want to encourage students to try their luck in illustration. But, I hope they recognize the vitality of being a talented artist and writer too, otherwise, how does an aspiring creator expect anybody to read his or her productions? It's also worth considering that if you inject heavy-handed leftist ideology into your work, that too could discourage potential audiences. Provided all involved are willing to consider that, their project and convention should work out well enough.