
Robson Square
- This event has passed.
2023 International Comic Arts Forum: Artist Keynote Talk featuring Haida Graphic Artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
April 21, 2023
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
at UBC Robson Square (map)
About the Event
The International Comic Arts Forum was founded in 1995 and is an academic conference dedicated to promoting the scholarly study and appreciation of comic art, including comic strips, comic books, comics albums and graphic novels, magazine and newspaper cartooning, caricature, and comics in electronic media.
As part of its three days of programming, ICAF is hosting its Artist Keynote featuring Haida Manga graphic artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, with the support of Connects at Robson Square. The talk is titled “Just Making Up Stuff” and will address one of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’s longstanding concerns of how to set up a comic book practice. This talk is about his approach to processing and technique, specifically about the choices about how to extend a story across a violent cultural cleavage using art and narrative.
This event will be catered by the Musqueam catering company Salishan Catering and also highlight the work of local and Indigenous cartoonists in an Artists’ Alley that will run alongside it. Be sure to RSVP to save your spot!
Event Schedule
6:30 PM – Reception and artist’s alley
7:30-9:00 PM – Keynote with Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Speaker
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a contemporary artist whose wide-ranging artistic practice explores themes of identity, environmentalism and the human condition. Influenced by both Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, he has created an artistic practice that crosses diverse cultures, generations, and disciplines in search of accessibility and engagement as a counterpoint to stratification and isolation. Institutional collections include the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, and Vancouver Art Gallery.
Moderator
Nicola Levell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, with expertise in critical museology and curatorial practice; the history of museums and museum anthropology, visual and performative arts and storytelling. Prof. Levell’s research and publications focus on exhibitions, collections history, public and performing arts and storytelling. She has curated exhibitions and art installations in the United Kingdom, Portugal, the United States and Canada. Her recent books include the edited volume Bodies of Enchantment: Puppets from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas (2021) and the monograph Mischief Making: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, Art, and the Seriousness of Play (2021) which explores the intersections of oral narratives and graphic practice in the work of Yahgulanaas, the celebrated Haida manga artist.
Event Partners
Get funding to host your next event at Robson Square!
You can get funding plus promotional and logistical support to bring your event to life.

Water4Seasons: Using Research-Based Theatre to Explore the Status of Water Health Equity
Water4Seasons draws on Research-based Theatre to explore the status of water health equity for Indigenous and rural communities in Canada, featuring a live theatre performance and talk from Dr. Stephani Woodson.

The Empress of Vancouver: Film Screening and Q&A
Join us for a celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia at a free, public screening of the TELUS original film The Empress of Vancouver.

Passage to Freedom: Film Screening and Discussion
Passage to Freedom is a documentary film following the oral histories of Southeast Asian refugees coming to Canada from Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The screening will be followed by a discussion from UBC faculty and alumni.

Hearts of Freedom: Stories of Southeast Asian Refugees
The Hearts of Freedom exhibition featuring stories of Southeast Asian refugees in Canada will be hosted at UBC Robson Square for free public viewing from May 13 to May 31.

2023 International Comic Arts Forum: Artist Talk Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Haida graphic artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas presents a keynote as part of the 2023 International Comic Arts Forum.

Peer-Led Intervention Work to Promote Dignity
A UBC public dialogue event centered around the importance of peer-led work, with formerly incarcerated lived-experience speakers.

Connecting Online Safely
UBC experts explore the subject of how youths can cope with and develop healthier approaches to social media, cyberbullying, and more.

Screening & Exhibition of Leslie Cheung—Hong Kong Icon
We are proud to present the screening of the 4K digital restoration of Rouge, accompanied by a special exhibition “Leslie Cheung—Hong Kong Icon” to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Hong Kong actor, singer, and performer, Leslie Cheung.

Cinema Thinks the World: Fail to Appear (2017)
A free screening of Fail to Appear, a film from UBC professor Antoine Bourges, followed by a discussion featuring the filmmaker.

Cinema Thinks the World: Rewind & Play (2022)
A free screening of Rewind and Play, followed by a discussion and Q&A led by UBC scholars and local experts.

Cinema Thinks the World: The Goddess (1934)
A free screening of The Goddess (1934), followed by a discussion by Professor Christopher Rea.

Africans in BC Town Hall
An end-of-year townhall for Africans in the diaspora to come together to network, connect, and discuss how to give back to the development of the continent.

Cinema Thinks the World: Mariupolis (2016)
A free screening and discussion of Mariupolis, a documentary made in 2016 by Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius about the contested Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

BC Votes: What Happens Next?
Join a panel of UBC Political Science faculty and alumni as we break down the results of the province’s municipal elections and their consequences for future policy and the future of local government.

Cinema Thinks the World: Coming Out (1989)
A free screening and discussion of the 1989 film, Coming Out.

Cinema Thinks the World: Irma Vep (1996)
A free screening of Olivier Assayas’ meta-cinematic masterpiece, Irma Vep (France, 1996).

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

Students Underground: UBC Downtown Takeover
Calling all students! Join us for a hands-on, social night of building community and learning how to use your power to make local change.

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

Summer Pop-Up Concert Series
Join us for our Summer Pop-Up Concerts at UBC Robson Square! We're bringing our most talented students to perform for you right in the heart of downtown every Thursday in July.

All Our Father’s Relations: Film Screening and Dialogue on Settler Colonialism, Identity, and Migration
In a special partnership with the UBC AMS Indigenous Committee, The Ismaili Centre, Vancouver and UBC Connects at Robson Square will be hosting a FREE, exclusive screening of All Our Father’s Relations, followed by an in-person talkback with Elder Larry Grant and filmmakers, Alejandro Yoshizawa and Sarah Ling.

In Tune With Your Brain
A half-day symposium all about the intersection of music and the brain presented by UBC Faculty of Science, Faculty of Applied Science, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, UBC Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Big Fight in Little Chinatown: Film Screening and Discussion – SOLD OUT
Big Fight in Little Chinatown will be available for a free screening on June 5th at UBC Robson Square, followed by a panel discussion featuring filmmaker Karen Cho and other UBC and community experts.

STEAMing Ahead: A Science Community Day
A day of science for all ages and a chance to meet world-class researchers and innovators, participate in hands-on experiments, and see amazing scientific demonstrations at UBC's Downtown Campus.

Tackling Climate Change and the Just Transition to Renewable Energy
This discussion and panel session are part of a series of French-Ameri-Can Climate Panels (FACTS) on climate change.

The Right to Repair
UBC's Bike Kitchen presents "The Right to Repair", a sustainability forum targeting industry issues surrounding the sale of “built-to-fail” products and consumers’ right to repair their own products across various industries.