New York City’s High School of Art & Design’s annual pop culture festival, Fanfaire NYC, returned on April 6 & 7 to benefit the school’s programs for aspiring student artists. Not only will you find vendors & special guests as you would at other comic cons, but a vibrant artist alley filled with dozens of the school’s very own students & alumni, as well!
Browsing through the 100+ booths at Fanfaire, you’ll come across original characters & books, art prints, pins & buttons, stickers, charms & accessories, and more! It’s a fantastic event for these young artists to gain some exposure, network with others, and even tap into the minds of big names in the comic book industry through portfolio reviews, panels, and other programming:
Among this year’s guests were Ivan Cohen, Chris Batista, Wilson Ramos Jr., Carl Potts, and Anthony Marques (above), who gave a talk on the process of creating comics during Sunday’s programming. Attendees were able to sit in, listen & ask questions, and swing by the guests’ booths to chat some more with them and other writers & artists like Larry Hama, Greg Pak, Amy Chu, Abe Audish, Louie Chin, Fabrice Sapolsky, Fred Van Lente, and Darryl ‘DMC’ McDaniels.
Meanwhile in other areas of the school, there were various gaming opportunities (above), Dungeons & Dragons sessions, a Super Smash Bros. competition, the PTA’s cafe fundraiser, a cosplay contest, and photo shoots with Stomping Ground Photo which was perfect for the incredible cosplaying attendees, as well as McHeretic (below) & the New York Fantastic Four, and Star Wars cosplay group Saber Guild… all who were dressed up both days to help spread the good vibes!
If you love the arts and supporting the next generation of artists & designers, then stay tuned for Fanfaire NYC 2025! Admission is very affordable for NYC high school & college students/faculty, with daily ticketing options for everyone else. For even more from this year’s Fanfaire, click here for photos and watch our recap video below:
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