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Come visit us at FanfaireNYC 2024 to meet
& learn from our amazing guests who are all professionals in their field!
To learn more about each guest, click on their photos to read their bios!
VFX Compositor
Osvaldo Andreaus, a VFX compositor hailing from Italy and a 2010 graduate of SVA, is renowned for his work on blockbuster movies and TV shows like In the Heights, P-Valley, Dexter New Blood, and She's Gotta Have It. His creative flair extends to innovative projects like the Google Pixel Simulator. Beyond his profession, Osvaldo enjoys drawing, exploring virtual worlds through video games, and traveling, all while navigating life with ADHD. With his technical prowess and boundless creativity, Osvaldo continues to captivate audiences with his innovative contributions to the world of visual effects.
Director & Producer
Abe Audish is a director and producer, known for Bugs Bunny Builders, We Bare Bears, Rise of the TMNT and many other of your favorite kid shows.
Comics Artist
Chris Batista was born and raised in the wilds of New York City. Exposed to comic books and cartoons at a very early age, they became a lifelong love. He drew endlessly through school which led him to The Arts Students League. Which then led to graduating from Fiorello Laguardia's school of Music and the Arts. Afterwards, he attended the School of Visual Arts as an Illustration major eventually changing his major to animation. At this time he attended a course being taught by the legendary Klaus Janson, learning the foundations of comic book storytelling. Klaus then set up an interview at Marvel Comics and he has worked in the comic industry ever since.
Artist & Designer
Hi, I'm Woody. I am an artist, a designer, a thinker, and a pug enthusiast. I have always had a passion for art. When I was a child, I used to paint on scrap paper and sculpt using dirt. As I grew up, I started drawing on dot-matrix computer paper that my father brought home from work, which led to my love for computer-based art. I blend academic drawing and design to create my typography. My drawings combine academic figure drawing with calligraphy, while my paintings are a blend of my love for color and expression of line. I also design eyewear collections that are inspired by retro-futurism and comic book superheroes.
Actor, Mime, and Playwright
Bill Bowers has performed throughout all 50 of the United States, Europe, and Asia. His Broadway credits include Zazu in The Lion King, and Leggett in The Scarlet Pimpernel. A student of the legendary Marcel Marceau, Bill is hailed by critics as one of the great mimes of our generation. An award-winning performer and playwright, Bill’s work has garnered top honors and rave reviews worldwide, including The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, International Thespis Festival in Germany, MonoMafia in Estonia, United Solo in NYC and Poland, the Fresh Fruit Festival, the Nature Festival of Korea, NonStop Festival in Norway, Festival of the Caribbean, among others. His original plays include All Over the Map, Beyond Words, Under a Montana Moon, It Goes Without Saying, Heyokah/ Hokehay, Johnny Got His Gun, and The Traveler. Bill co-stars with Billy Crystal in the Paramount series WINSTON. He is featured in the films Two Weeks’ Notice and Lost Cause and on television in Disney’s Out of the Box, Remember W.E.N.N, All My Children, the PBS adaptation of Peter and the Wolf, and the PBS documentary series Brief But Spectacular.
Filmmaker / Teacher
Michael Bridenstine is an award-winning Writer/Producer/Director with over three decades experience creating content for Netflix, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, HGTV, New Line Cinema, DirecTV, Island Records and many more. In addition, Michael has dedicated himself to the pursuit of "the funny", as he likes to call it, having written his first comedy sketch at the age of 13. While at Tisch School of the Arts, Michael hosted NYU's only live comedy talk show when he was in film school, interviewing celebrity guests from Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Show, Laverne & Shirley, All My Children and more. He's done hundreds of improvisational comedy shows in the NYC area and self-published a book of short comic essays. He currently teachers Film at Art & Design High School and is the proud father of two boys, Nicholas and Benjamin.
Children’s Book Illustrator
Nick Bruel is the creator of the New York Times best-selling Bad Kitty series. He lives in Pleasantville, NY with his wife Carina, their son Carson, their dog Skyler, and their sometimes-good-sometimes-bad cats Rose and Noodles.
Background Noise Comic
Lisa Burdige and John Hazard are a writer and artist, collaborating couple. Together, they are the co-creator of the 2023 Ringo-Award-nominated Background Noise Comic, which has over 25K followers on Instagram. They have appeared on panels at numerous Comic Cons including San Diego, Baltimore and New York and taught classes on comic creation and social media for the Highlights Foundation.
Lisa is an award-winning advertising Creative Director/copywriter. She’s had stories, poems, short plays, personal essays, and comics published in literary magazines and anthologies. She has a Bachelor's in English Literature from McGill University and a Master's in Creative Writing from NYU. Currently, she co-hosts a monthly novel-writing workshop through Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. She is also an active member of the Women In Comics Collective.
John spent over a decade creating art for Nickelodeon, including game design for the MMORPG “Nicktropolis” and animation for the show “ROMEO!” As a freelance illustrator, he’s drawn picture books, magazine covers, and comics for businesses. His other original comics include Schmooze or Lose, an award-winning newspaper strip, and Frankenstein Superstar. He has taught at the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
Lisa is an award-winning advertising Creative Director/copywriter. She’s had stories, poems, short plays, personal essays, and comics published in literary magazines and anthologies. She has a Bachelor's in English Literature from McGill University and a Master's in Creative Writing from NYU. Currently, she co-hosts a monthly novel-writing workshop through Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. She is also an active member of the Women In Comics Collective.
John spent over a decade creating art for Nickelodeon, including game design for the MMORPG “Nicktropolis” and animation for the show “ROMEO!” As a freelance illustrator, he’s drawn picture books, magazine covers, and comics for businesses. His other original comics include Schmooze or Lose, an award-winning newspaper strip, and Frankenstein Superstar. He has taught at the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
Education Evangelist, Adobe
Kevin Carew-Bynoe is a visual artist, graphic designer, and creative educator. Since 2014 he has worked with various organizations, focusing on STEM/STEAM based learning. His goal has always been to stress the value of arts and tech in marginalized communities, along with providing platforms for students to share their stories.
Adobe specializes in design software, creative tech tools and solutions. As an Evangelist Kevin is focused on bringing this knowledge into the classroom and showing students and teachers how to unleash creativity within their classwork.
Adobe specializes in design software, creative tech tools and solutions. As an Evangelist Kevin is focused on bringing this knowledge into the classroom and showing students and teachers how to unleash creativity within their classwork.
Landscape Architect
Taewook Cha is a registered landscape architect and founding principal of Supermass Studio, a landscape architecture practice based in New York City since 2011.
With over 25 years of experience both in the United States and internationally, Taewook has devoted most of his career to the innovation and advancement of public spaces in complex urban environments. His recently completed projects at Supermass Studio include Wisconsin Riverfront Park in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Mulberry Commons Park in Newark, NJ, ETEC Innovation Center at University at Albany, NY and Concourse Parks at LaGuardia Airport’s New Terminal B in New York, NY.
Taewook received his Master of Landscape Architecture degrees from Harvard University and Seoul National University, and a Bachelor of Agriculture in Horticulture from Korea University in South Korea. He serves as an executive board member at ASLA-NY and a co-chair of its DEI Committee. In 2023, Taewook was elevated to the Council of Fellows at American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), one of the highest honors the ASLA bestows on its members.
With over 25 years of experience both in the United States and internationally, Taewook has devoted most of his career to the innovation and advancement of public spaces in complex urban environments. His recently completed projects at Supermass Studio include Wisconsin Riverfront Park in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, Mulberry Commons Park in Newark, NJ, ETEC Innovation Center at University at Albany, NY and Concourse Parks at LaGuardia Airport’s New Terminal B in New York, NY.
Taewook received his Master of Landscape Architecture degrees from Harvard University and Seoul National University, and a Bachelor of Agriculture in Horticulture from Korea University in South Korea. He serves as an executive board member at ASLA-NY and a co-chair of its DEI Committee. In 2023, Taewook was elevated to the Council of Fellows at American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), one of the highest honors the ASLA bestows on its members.
Part-time Assistant Professor
Yoon Chang is a part time instructor in the BFA Fashion Design program at Parsons the New School for Design since 2012. She holds a BFA degree from Parsons and also studied abroad at Parsons in Paris and Winchester School of Art in England. Yoon is passionate about helping students develop their individual design perspective through highly personal investigative techniques and methodologies.Upon graduation, Yoon worked at Cynthia Steffe for 13 years with 6 of those with the title of Design Director; overseeing a staff designing and developing the style, image, tone and story of each season from sketches to fabrication. In 2007 she launched her own contemporary women’s wear label Whistle & Flute with Je-Won Hwang. During the 5 years she ran Whistle & Flute she was awarded Winner of the GENART International Design Vision award for Women's Ready to Wear; she was a Finalist of the Fashion Group International Rising Star Women's Ready to Wear award and was a Finalist of the prestigious Samsung Fashion & Design Fund Award. Her work has been featured in Womens Wear Daily, Nylon, Nylon Korea, T Magazine (NYTimes), Elle, Lucky, Harper's Bazaar Korea and online fashion and news publications. Aside from teaching at Parsons and Pratt Institute, Yoon continues to be an advocate for young people and art and is on the governing board of Foster Pride, an organization that mentors children and teens in the foster care system through art.
Illustrator
Born and raised in New York, Louie Chin is an illustrator whose work includes commercial and editorial content, as well as individual commissions. He has created illustrations for a variety of publications and projects, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Nike, and the children's books, Bodega Cat (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection 2020) and Don't Ask a Dinosaur. Working with both traditional and modern media, such as watercolor, gouache, and digital art software, his biggest influences and inspirations come from comics, movies, and his daily observations of life in NYC.
Comics illustrator
ChrisCross is an illustrator who’s been working in comics for 33 years. His dynamic style has been featured in comics published by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Erasmus Fox, Boom!, and FairSquare. He is also working on concepts for his own company, Eternal Kick.
Comics & TV Writer
Amy Chu is a multi-genre writer for comics and animation. She contributed to two seasons of the Netflix anime series DOTA: Dragon’s Blood and has worked on popular DC and Marvel characters such as Wonder Woman, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Doctor Strange,and Iron Man to name a few. Her most recent graphic novel is Fighting to Belong!: A History of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Known for her contemporary run on the long running sword fantasy Red Sonja, she was also the first woman to write the KISS and Green Hornet series.
Her graphic novels for children include Turning Red, Sea Sirens and Sky Island and Ana & the Cosmic Race. Amy has created educational comics for many nonprofits including the New York Historical Society, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Museum of Chinese in America and The Asian American Foundation. In addition to judging for the Ringo and Harvey awards, she serves on the faculty of the Kubert School and the School of Visual Arts and is a board member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in Architectural Design from MIT and East Asian Studies from Wellesley College.
Her graphic novels for children include Turning Red, Sea Sirens and Sky Island and Ana & the Cosmic Race. Amy has created educational comics for many nonprofits including the New York Historical Society, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Museum of Chinese in America and The Asian American Foundation. In addition to judging for the Ringo and Harvey awards, she serves on the faculty of the Kubert School and the School of Visual Arts and is a board member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a double bachelor’s degree in Architectural Design from MIT and East Asian Studies from Wellesley College.
Comics Writer
A prolific writer in comic books, animation, and more, Ivan Cohen has scripted episodes of Teen Titans Go! and Beware the Batman as well as the bestselling graphic-novel adaptation of 2021's Space Jam: A New Legacy. The co-writer of The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries comic book series for DC Comics, he has also written comics for DC and Marvel featuring the Looney Tunes, Teen Titans Go!, and members of the Justice League and the Avengers, among many others.
In 2020, Cohen attracted national press attention with his introduction of the character “Kid Quick” to the DC Universe: a non-binary superhero who would later be established as the future inheritor of the Flash mantle. Among his upcoming projects are the illustrated storybook The Big Bang Theory: A Matter of Friendship and an essay in the Library of America anthology The Mad Files: Writers and Cartoonists on the Magazine that Warped America’s Brain. Cohen is also the author of multiple children’s books featuring Star Wars, Looney Tunes, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Avengers.
Additionally, he has produced two television documentaries on comic-books and superheroes; and, as a development executive at DC Entertainment, helped launch the ongoing DC Universe line of animated movies and supervised development of TV and movie projects including Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Red, and Watchmen.
In 2020, Cohen attracted national press attention with his introduction of the character “Kid Quick” to the DC Universe: a non-binary superhero who would later be established as the future inheritor of the Flash mantle. Among his upcoming projects are the illustrated storybook The Big Bang Theory: A Matter of Friendship and an essay in the Library of America anthology The Mad Files: Writers and Cartoonists on the Magazine that Warped America’s Brain. Cohen is also the author of multiple children’s books featuring Star Wars, Looney Tunes, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Avengers.
Additionally, he has produced two television documentaries on comic-books and superheroes; and, as a development executive at DC Entertainment, helped launch the ongoing DC Universe line of animated movies and supervised development of TV and movie projects including Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Red, and Watchmen.
Comics Artist & Writer
Ryan Dunlavey (he/him) is the artist and co-author of multiple graphic novels and comic books, including Action Philosophers, Action Presidents, The Comic Book History of Animation, The Comic Book History of Comics and Action Activists - all co-created with his frequent collaborator, writer Fred Van Lente. Ryan's other comics include Dirt Candy: A Cookbook with chef Amanda Cohen, The Illustrated Al with "Weird" Al Yankovic, M.O.D.O.K. for Marvel Comics (which he also wrote) and comics for Dark Horse, Dynamite, IDW, Image, Webtoon and Z2. Ryan's artwork has been published by HarperCollins, Penguin, Scholastic, Taschen, Random House and MAD magazine and has applied his talents to editorial illustration, apparel graphics, educational software development, game design and film and television productions. His diverse clientele list includes Disney, Warner Bros, Hasbro, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, The WWE and his mom.
Dungeons & Dragons Game Master
Seth Granger has been a fully accredited D&D devotee, player, and DM since 1980, when the game (like any good and proper brain parasite) took up permanent residence in his imagination. When he became the dad of two remarkable daughters (who, thanks to good luck, and good parenting, have become just as enthralled as he is), Seth started running games for them and their friends. It was amazing and fun and exciting and hilarious... but it wasn’t enough. Seth saw the unfiltered creativity and the unapologetic courage of these kids as they played, through both the nostalgic eyes of his younger self and the adult eyes of his current parental incarnation, and knew he wanted to do more. The whispering wyrm inside his brain demanded that he share this passion and love of the hobby with as many people as possible.
He now runs The Deliberate Myth, a Brooklyn-based business offering Game Master services for players of all ages and experience levels.
He now runs The Deliberate Myth, a Brooklyn-based business offering Game Master services for players of all ages and experience levels.
Art Director
Judith Grey is a freelance creative director, art director and filmmaker. Her career in advertising has taken her from Sydney to Hong Kong and most recently, New York. She has extensive experience producing television, print and digital campaigns for global brands including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Kao Brands, HSBC, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gillette and Georgia Pacific. In 2003, she wrote and directed the award-winning documentary, "Sin Embargo," filmed entirely in Cuba. She has written about politics and advertising for The Daily Beast and Business Insider.
Art Director
Niko Guardia is a Venezuelan/Colombian American art director. Born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida, Niko moved to New York City to pursue his dream of working in animation. After landing an internship at Titmouse and working on Metalocalypse, he gained experience as a background designer, painter and most recently, art director. He is currently working on Season 2 of Kiff for Disney. A teacher at School of Visual Arts and thesis film advisor, Niko enjoys mentoring artists. He has also colored comics for Image, BOOM!, and Black Mask Studios. Niko was the 2024 Ringling Alumni Honoree majoring in Illustration.
VFX Creative
Paris Hall is a CG Generalist and Technical Director with over 15 years of experience in the CG Industry. He has led departments, directed projects and developed tools for the Film, TV, Commercial and Interactive sectors. You've seen his work as a Lighting and Rigging TD on notable projects for Volkswagen, Google, xfinity, Delta, Mercedes, Netflix and 20th Century Fox. In 2022, he joined the Art and Illustration faculty at Montclair State University, as well as the board of the Visual Effects Society NY Section. These two passions continue to be a great source of inspiration and pride.
Comics Creator
Larry Hama is an editor, writer, penciler, designer, actor, musician, consultant and raconteur who has been creating comics since 1967. He created all the GI Joe characters for Hasbro, and wrote Wolverine at Marvel for 8 years. A detailed bio and listing of his work can be had at wikipedia.com and some it might actually be true.
Landscape Architect
Adrian Hayes is a registered landscape architect with over 15 years of experience in both the public and private sector. Currently a designer at NYC Parks, Adrian’s work has helped bring vibrant new public spaces to the neighborhoods of Queens, NY. During his time in the profession, Adrian has had the opportunity to work on projects and competitions in a wide range of scales and locations—from regional to compact, international to local. When not designing outdoor spaces, Adrian can be found out experiencing and absorbing them, often with his wife Farah and three sons Julian, Rio, and Joaquin (who are all excellent park-testers). He is also a presence in his sons’ Boy Scout troop, a volunteer coordinator in his local community garden (Project Eden), and a singer/songwriter/guitarist in the band Lone Empire.
Background Noise Comic
Lisa Burdige and John Hazard are a writer and artist, collaborating couple. Together, they are the co-creator of the 2023 Ringo-Award-nominated Background Noise Comic, which has over 25K followers on Instagram. They have appeared on panels at numerous Comic Cons including San Diego, Baltimore and New York and taught classes on comic creation and social media for the Highlights Foundation.
Lisa is an award-winning advertising Creative Director/copywriter. She’s had stories, poems, short plays, personal essays, and comics published in literary magazines and anthologies. She has a Bachelor's in English Literature from McGill University and a Master's in Creative Writing from NYU. Currently, she co-hosts a monthly novel-writing workshop through Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. She is also an active member of the Women In Comics Collective.
John spent over a decade creating art for Nickelodeon, including game design for the MMORPG “Nicktropolis” and animation for the show “ROMEO!” As a freelance illustrator, he’s drawn picture books, magazine covers, and comics for businesses. His other original comics include Schmooze or Lose, an award-winning newspaper strip, and Frankenstein Superstar. He has taught at the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
Lisa is an award-winning advertising Creative Director/copywriter. She’s had stories, poems, short plays, personal essays, and comics published in literary magazines and anthologies. She has a Bachelor's in English Literature from McGill University and a Master's in Creative Writing from NYU. Currently, she co-hosts a monthly novel-writing workshop through Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers. She is also an active member of the Women In Comics Collective.
John spent over a decade creating art for Nickelodeon, including game design for the MMORPG “Nicktropolis” and animation for the show “ROMEO!” As a freelance illustrator, he’s drawn picture books, magazine covers, and comics for businesses. His other original comics include Schmooze or Lose, an award-winning newspaper strip, and Frankenstein Superstar. He has taught at the Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.
Creative Director
Joann Hill has art directed illustrators and designed children’s books for Random House, Clarion Books, and now Disney Hyperion, where she is the Creative Director. Disney Hyperion publishes a wide range of books for children, and Joann enjoys discovering new talent, encouraging artists to do their best work, and mentoring the designers on her staff. She has a history of collaborating on award-winning and best-selling books and has been fortunate to work with such amazing illustrators as Victo Ngai, John Rocco, Marla Frazee, Dan Santat, Matthew Cordell, LeUyen Pham, David Wiesner, and Lorena Alvarez Gómez. She has also been a regular speaker at trade organizations such as SCBWI, at middle and high schools, and at universities such as Parsons School of Design, MICA, and SCAD.
Part-time Assistant Professor
Born and raised in Zurich/Switzerland.Education in Tailoring (Schule fur Mode and Gestaltung, Zurich) and BFA in Fashion Design (FIT, New York). Accessory Designer at DKNY. Sportswear Designer at Calvin Klein/CK Jeans.Ready-to-Wear Designer for Jamei Chen, Taiwan.Launch of ready-to-wear label Markus Huemer: Unit.Consulting Designer for Shelly Steffee, New York. Faculty at Parsons The New School for Design (Fashion Techniques, Couture, Construction 3, Fashion Industry Design, Fashion Portfolio).
See our program page for all panels & workshops that our guests have prepared for you!
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