March 24, 2014

White River Junction, Vermont — Since opening its doors in 2005, the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) has been committed to exploring the artistic and literary potential of cartooning. Beginning in Fall 2014, CCS will offer a new MFA track in “Applied Cartooning,” exploring how comics can impact such diverse fields as health, business, public policy, and education.

“This ground-breaking program builds off the past decade of rebirth and innovation in the comics world, and brings the power of cartooning and sequential art – not to mention the creative powers of CCS’s MFA students – to new frontiers, industries, and communities.Students will gain valuable job experience and connections, creative stimulation, and professional challenges through their applied thesis projects,” says cartoonist Marek Bennett. Marek, one the Applied Cartooning program advisors, is a New Hampshire-based teaching artist who has spent the past 12 years creating comics-based educational programs and community-based graphic novels in New England, Central America, and Eastern Europe.

For the last nine years, The Center for Cartoon Studies has been on the cutting edge of comics art education. CCS has continuously “applied cartooning” through partnerships with a wide range of institutions including the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Montshire Museum of Science, Museum of the City of New York, and the US embassy in Bahrain.

“I am seeing an increasing number of young cartoonists who are as interested in using their skills in a broader, more socially active context as they are in holing up and focusing exclusively on a graphic novel,” says CCS cofounder and director James Sturm.

To learn more about CCS’s new applied cartooning program please visit cartoonstudies.org/appliedcartooning

Interested students and organizations looking for applied cartooning partnership opportunities please contact appliedcartooning@cartoonstudies.org

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is America’s premiere cartooning school and studio, located in the historic village of White River Junction, Vermont. Faculty and visiting artists include many of today’s most celebrated cartoonists. CCS has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, LA Times, and The Washington Post. CCS is a driving force behind the recent revitalization of White River Junction, bringing jobs, students, and art to the village.