VCU news

A comic by VCU Brandcenter student Wanda Felsenhardt – “The Right to Read: Censorship in America’s Prisons” – has won the $1,000 grand prize in VCU Libraries’ third annual Jurgen Comics Contest.  

The competition focuses on storytelling that highlights the intersection of art, society and censorship. For the 2023-24 contest, Virginia Commonwealth University students were invited to use a historical incident of art suppression and create a single-page comic that shares a story or explores issues tied to the event.

“The Right to Read” shines a spotlight on the vast number of titles banned by state prison systems – and reasons given for keeping books out of prisoners’ hands.

“I enjoyed this process because I learned a lot about a topic I knew nothing about,” said Felsenhardt, a first-year graduate student studying experience design at the Brandcenter. “I had no idea how many restrictions there are around accessing books in prison.”

“Every year of this contest brings something new,” said Alice Campbell, digital outreach librarian at VCU Libraries and Jurgen Comics Contest manager. “There seems to be no end to the story of artists pushing boundaries and someone pushing back. But even as the reasons for censorship vary over the years, one constant is artists’ and censors’ belief that products of our human creativity and skill impact society. In an odd and often unwelcome way, censorship tells us how much art matters.”

Among other honorees in this year’s contest:

• Naomy Cardoso Perez and Gillian Grunenfelder received the artistry prize ($250) for “Monument Woman.” Their comic tells the story of Nazi attempts to control art and of the bravery of Rose Valland, a French art historian and member of the Resistance who secretly documented Nazi art theft. Cardoso Perez is a third-year painting and printmaking major, and Grunenfelder is a third-year communication arts major, both in the School of the Arts.
• The storytelling award ($250) went to Winston Broiles for “Spider-Man, Terror of the Comics Code Authority.” The entry recounts how Spider-Man comics emboldened the industry to reject oversight and censorship by the CCA. Broiles is in his second year as a communication arts major.

• Hannah Diment’s “Allegory of Artemisia” received the research award ($250) for a comic examining the challenges faced by the talented 17th-century female painter Artemisia Gentileschi. Diment is a senior majoring in communication arts.

• Two comics received honorable mention designations and will be published: “America’s Sailor Moon” by Cici Eltermann, a senior majoring in communication arts, and “Dystopian University” by Ayla Bramblett, a first-year art foundation student. 

In the weeks and months ahead, VCU Libraries will further highlight the student artists with exhibitions and publications. Winning entries are on exhibit on the first floor of James Branch Cabell Library and published online in VCU Scholars Compass. A Jurgen Comics Contest newspaper celebrates the contest’s connection to the Golden Age of newspaper comics, and free copies will be available in coming weeks. Beginning in January, images from all contest entries will be displayed in an exhibit on the Cabell Screen, the 25-foot display on the exterior north facade of library.

“It’s exciting to see how the students’ research and creativity come together to tell complex stories through comics that highlight real-life instances of art suppression and censorship,” said Karen Bjork, head of Digital Libraries and Publishing at VCU Libraries. “I’m proud to be a part of a contest that not only continues to recognize student excellence but recently received statewide attention when VCU Libraries received the Virginia Library Association’s inaugural Intellectual Freedom Award.”

The contest program includes mentorship of a student editor. Julia Martinez, who is pursuing a degree in mass communications in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the College of Humanities and Sciences, presented online information sessions, designed posters and designed the special edition newspaper.                                       

The inaugural Jurgen Comics Contest (2021-22) looked at the events and issues surrounding the banning of James Branch Cabell’s “Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice.” Cabell is the namesake of VCU’s Monroe Park Campus library. 

Prizes this year were awarded by a diverse panel of judges that included Rena Bridge, VCU graduate and grand prize winner of last year’s contest; Bizhan Khodabandeh, comics artist and faculty in Robertson School; Scott Wegener, comics artist and communication arts faculty in VCUarts; Chris Irving, comics historian and communication arts faculty in VCUarts; John Zeugner, member of the Cabell Associates of VCU Libraries; Chrystal Carpenter, head of Special Collections and Archives; and Carla-Mae Crookendale, arts research librarian.