Stories tagged Sasha Velour

Sasha Velour’s THE BIG REVEAL is now available

Renowned crowned queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Center for Cartoon Studies alum, Sasha Velour ‘13 is back making headlines. This time, it’s for her new book, THE BIG REVEAL: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag, now available wherever books are sold.

“This book is a quilt, piecing together memoir, history, and theory into a living portrait of an artist and an art… As Sasha recalls her own journey, from the women who raised her, to learning the craft of an artist, to success, disaster, and more, she also uncovers the history of queer life around the world that made it all possible.” – Harper Books, an imprint of HarperCollins 

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Sasha Velour ‘13 Designed Pride Cover of The New Yorker

Happy Pride! Our very own Sasha Velour ‘13 designed the 6/12/23 New Yorker cover, “The Look of Pride.”

Sasha spoke with The New Yorker’s art editor, Françoise Mouly, about the power of drag: “Queer expression, including drag, is the ultimate proof that a person can decide for themselves how to dress, dance, act, and live . . . and still find success, or a life worth living. Drag shows us that we don’t need to be afraid of who we are . . . and, if anything, we should exaggerate our quirks!”

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Be Gay, Do Comics Wins Ignatz Award

The Ignatz Awards, traditionally a big part of the Small Press Expo (SPX), were held online this year, including the award ceremonies. Congratulations to everyone in Be Gay, Do Comics, an anthology from The Nib, for winning Outstanding Anthology. Congratulations also to Melissa Mendes ’10, Emil Wilson ’21, and fellows (Noah Van Sciver (2015-16 Fellow), and Karen Katz (2018-20 Fellow) for their nominations.

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“Be Gay, Do Comics” includes Kazimir Lee and Sasha Velour

Be Gay, Do Comics is the newest anthology from The Nib. This 250-page hardcover comic anthology features queer history, memoir, and satire: “a homosexual behemoth highlighting the many amazing LGBTQ cartoonists [they’ve] had the joy of working with.” Included in this bundle of talent is Kazimir Lee Iskander ’16 and Sasha Velour ’13.

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Students From Small Cartooning School Find Outsized Success

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT – Far from the large cities and cultural centers, a school with less than 40 students in rural Vermont is leaving its mark in a big way. Established in 2005, The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) can point to both current students and graduates experiencing the type of success that creators dream about.

Most recently Emma Hunsinger ’20 had a ten-page comic in The New Yorker (12/30/19 issue). Originally appearing online, “How to Draw a Horse” began as a non-fiction class assignment. Lucy Knisley’s ’09 most recent children’s book You Are New (Chronicle Books) was named a Top 25 Children’s Books of 2019 by The New York Times. Widely considered one of the most outstanding cartoonists of her generation, Tillie Walden ’16 most recently published Are You Listening (First Second), her third major graphic novel since graduating from CCS. Her first graphic novel, the Eisner award-winning memoir Spinning, began as her CCS thesis project.

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Drag Icon Sasha Velour ′13 Makes Triumphant Return To Vermont As CCS Commencement Speaker

White River Junction, Vermont – CCS alumni Sasha Velour ′13, a gender-fluid drag queen and international icon, will deliver the commencement address to The Center for Cartoon Studies’ class of 2020. The Commencement Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at 11am, at The Barrette Center for The Arts in White River Junction, Vermont. Velour first began performing in drag in White River Junction.

Velour was the winner of season 9 of the Emmy Award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race. Since winning, she has had top billing in drag shows around the world, including sold out solo appearances in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Toronto, Vancouver, and Auckland.  Her performances have been hailed as “expressionist performance-art illustration” by The New York Times and a “spellbinding tour de force” by Forbes.

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Sasha Velour ′13 on Smoke and Mirrors Tour

Sasha Velour, Smoke and Mirros: The Live Show

Sasha Velour ′13 is going on a North American tour with Smoke and Mirrors. Starting on October 21 in Texas and winding their way through The States and across Canada. The show toured Australia and New Zealand with In The Dark Events in January 2019 to rave reviews. It debuted in the U.S. for the first time in March 2019 at New York Live Arts, played The Ace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles in May, and made its UK debut with two sold-out engagements at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London this August.

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Sasha Velour’s “Three Dollar Riot”

Cover of Three Dollar Riots
New cover for Three Dollar Riots

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, Sasha Velour ′13 is releasing her history comic, Three Dollar Riot. Starting as her thesis right here at The Center for Cartoon Studies, the 36-page comic follows the events of the evening of June 27th, 1969, leading up to the riots. Three Dollar Riot is available for preorder for the price of 19.69.

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Sasha Velour ′13 Smoke and Mirrors Sold Out Show

Smoke and Mirrors by Sasha Velour

Sasha Velour ′13 is doing a one-woman show, Smoke and Mirrors. The show toured Australia and New Zealand in January 2019 to rave reviews. Winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 9, Sasha used her comic training from The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) to aid in the design of her costumes for this show, saying “to draw a good character you to draw it really tiny, and make sure that the person is recognizable.”

Read “Sasha Velour’s New Show Unpacks The ‘Magic Act’ of Drag” The ‘Drag Race’ winner uses her background in comics to devise her signature look by Jaya Saxena.

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Sasha Velour at NYC Fashion Week

Sasha Velour ′13 is a story teller, and she is bringing that skill to the NYC Fashion Week spring 2019 line with  “The Gift of Showz.” In collaboration with Opening Ceremony, a global fashion brand, Sasha is celebrating the art of drag and featuring special guests.  For whom “you’re gonna flip!!” she says.

Opening Ceremony previously took their runway to Disneyland, getting Minnie Mouse to participate as a model. With their go-big-or-go-home attitude, it is not surprise they want to work with the season nine RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Sasha.

 

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CARTOONING IN AN ANXIOUS AGE

Cartooning In An Anxious Age (pdf) is a free comic by Cara Bean on the act of drawing, which focuses your attention and intimately connects you with the generative act of creation. It’s an inspiring read.

Let's Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health

Let's Talk About It: A Graphic Guide to Mental Health

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This Is What Democracy Looks Like comic cover

Using the power of comics to teach teens about the way our government works This Is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance is a 32-page comic book created by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). This short comic guide helps to bring democracy back to the hands of the people by explaining what democracy actually means and how the whole thing works. This guide will be a great jumping-off point to learn about our government.

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