CORE Workbench: The Superhero Project with Lisa Kollins and Call for Artists

Superhero Project founder Lisa Kollins and participating artists will discuss how The Superhero Project’s core values of imagination, inclusion, representation and joy are reflected in characters created by youth impacted by serious illnesses, mental health challenges and disabilities, in the touring community exhibits, and in the impact that participating in the initiative has on families and youth with complex medical needs.  In the framing essay for a touring exhibit featuring superheroes created by Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian American and Arab American youth, artist activist Amanda D. King writes, “To see the full spectrum of marginalized individual identities represented in images is to free us all from our nation’s history of inhumanity and to usher us into a more just and equitable future.” 

Participating artists will talk about the unique process of designing a character based on a child’s ideas and celebrating their physical differences, and some of the organization’s favorite designs will be shared with the stories of their creation. The presentation will be followed by a discussion of potential collaborations in the Cleveland community. Lisa will open a call to local artists who are interested in collaborating as superhero creators and organizational hosts for the touring exhibition.