2023 Convention Schedule
Wednesday,
October 18th
8:00AM – 7:30PM
Art Directors Guild Imaginator Award Winner Exhibition
University Library 2nd Floor WalkwayCome see the Art Directors Guild exhibition of the work of this year’s Imaginator Award Winner, graphic designer Martin Charles. The exhibition includes his work from films such as The Avengers, Minority Report, Leatherheads, and much more!
9:00AM – 4:30PM
Art Directors Guild Eagle Con Exhibition
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Come see the Art Directors Guild exhibition of work from your favorite movies and television shows and meet members of the ADG to talk about careers in the entertainment industry. The exhibition will include work from such shows as Star Trek: Picard, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Babylon 5, Lucifer, Jurassic Park, and much more!
10:00AM – 10:50AM
The Current State of the Creative Industries: What We’ve Learned from the Strikes
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Flora Ortega, production designer (God’s Country, Outsiders, WWE Evil)
Dionisio Tafoya, Professional Development Committee, Art Directors Guild
Alex Hajdu, production designer (Lucifer, The Walking Dead)
Chuck Parker, ADG National Executive Director, production designer (Monk, Beyond the Trek)
Moderator: Andrew Stumme, ADG Director of Field and Organizing, assistant art director (Torchwood)
10:00AM – 10:50AM
Ancient and Medieval SF
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Stephen Trzaskoma, Cal State LA, College of Arts and Letters, “Making Time for Female Intelligence through Uchronia in Ancient Fiction: The Case of Chariton’s Callirhoe.”
Ahmad Muhammad Aurangzeb, University of Washington, “Servants of God: Conceptualizing Intelligences across Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Medieval Era”
11:00AM – 11:50AM
Comics, Typography and Graphic Design with Don Nguyen
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Don Nguyen, comic book and graphic artist, Marvel Upper Deck, Pablo the Gorilla
Moderator: Professor Zachary Vernon, Cal State LA
11:00AM – 11:50AM
Science Fiction and the Future of Anti-Racism
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Michael Pfirrmann-Pugh, University of California Riverside, “Michael Burnham’s Hair Journey: Black Hair and Self-Actualization in Science Fiction Television”
Lando Tosaya, University of Washington, “The Creation of Afro-Indigenous Futurisms: How an Entwined Tyrannized Past Generated the Production of Imagined Futures”
Moderator: Stina Attebery, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
12:15PM – 1:30PM
Imaginator Award Presentation
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Join us in celebrating the art and career of Martin Charles, the founder of Santa-Monica-based SagaBoy Productions, who has helped design and create realistic sets for more than 60 feature films and television productions including AI, Black Adam, Ghostbusters, The Avengers, and many more. Moderated by ADG Past President Mimi Gramatky, University of Southern California
1:45PM – 2:55PM
Ready, Set, Play! Building a Creative Career in Games
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Scott Newton, Senior Manager, Riot Games
Brice Cox, Sr. Creative Director, Riot Games
Lindsey Zamplas, Director of Production, Riot Games
Shannon Denton, Sr. Narrative Writer, Riot Games
Cat Cheresh, Narrative Writer, Riot Games
1:45PM – 2:55PM
Space Babe Podyssey: Quality Queers
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Rosa Rivera, Cal State LA
‘Jubi Sandoval, Cal State LA
Matt Rumer, production designer
2:55PM – 3:00PM
Rhonda Mitchell Award
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Presentation of the Rhonda Mitchell Award for outstanding service to Eagle Con
3:10PM – 4:20PM
Gender in the Comics Industry
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Barbara Randall Kesel, Creative Director/Producer for Urus Entertainment, writer/editor for DC Comics (including Watchmen), Dark Horse Comics and CrossGen Comics
Shequeta Smith, writer, creator, and CEO of Shero Comics
Moderator: Pam Noles, organizer at San Diego Comic-Con.
Markeia McCarty, actor, journalist and gamer
Tamara Brooks, author and commentator
4:30PM – 5:00PM
Tours of Martin Charles Library Exhibition
University Library 2nd Floor Walkway5:00PM – 6:00PM
USITT Design Resources Library Reception
University Library North 3rd FloorWanna Play?
Games Room
2nd Floor U-SUOpen Gameplay (including 2 gaming stations) from 10am–2pm.
Mario Kart 8 group games from 2pm–4pm.
Thursday,
October 19th
8:00AM – 7:30PM
Art Directors Guild Imaginator Award Winner Exhibition
University Library 2nd Floor WalkwayCome see the Art Directors Guild exhibition of the work of this year’s Imaginator Award Winner, graphic designer Martin Charles. The exhibition includes his work from films such as The Avengers, Minority Report, Leatherheads, and much more!
9:00AM – 4:30PM
Art Directors Guild Eagle Con Exhibition
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Come see the Art Directors Guild exhibition of work from your favorite movies and television shows and meet members of the ADG to talk about careers in the entertainment industry. The exhibition will include work from such shows as Star Trek: Picard, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Babylon 5, Lucifer, Jurassic Park, and much more!
9:25AM – 10:15AM
Intersectional Disability Representations in Speculative Fiction
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Dr. Pau Abustan, Cal State Los Angeles (Fruits Basket)
Leslie Sweet, Liberal Studies Major (Malcom in the Middle, Mad Max Fury Road, Man in the High Castle)
Janet Tsi, Graphic Design Major (BatGirl, Oracle)
Ruby Lopez, Sociology Major (Never Have I Ever)
Tracy Hong, Nursing Major (Stranger Things)
10:19AM – 10:35AM
Great California Shakeout Drill
In Front of the University Student Union11:00AM – 12:05PM
The Music of the Future
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Geoff Stradling, orchestrator, Star Trek: Picard, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
David Carbonara, composer and music editor (Mad Men, Chocolat, The Lake House)
Prof. John Kennedy, Cal State LA, Department of Music (moderating)
11:00AM – 12:05PM
Race, Utopia, and Dystopia in Comics
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Dion Bickham, writer (Blood Priest, Unnatural Selection: The Chambers Effect)
Tamara Brooks, author and commentator
· Lando Tosaya, University of Washington (moderator)
12:20PM – 1:30PM
Theatre Arts Cosplay Catwalk
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Join Professor Bueso and his Theatre Arts students as they model and discuss their costumes that have been inspired by the classic film The 5th Element.
12:20PM – 1:30PM
Sci-Fi’s Queer Possibilities
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Manifa Baghomian, California State University Los Angeles, “Science Fiction & Transgender Representation: A Symbiotic Partnership”
Willow Eichler, California State University Los Angeles, “The Queer Experience: Pressures, Freedoms, and Dangers as Presented in Left Hand of Darkness”
Moderator: Joshua Pearson, Cal State University Los Angeles
1:45PM – 2:55PM
Prism Award Presentation
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Join us in celebrating the achievements of legendary Los Angeles artists and comics creators Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, whose long-running independent title Love and Rockets has inspired generations of artists, musicians, and Chican@ futurists. Moderated by Dr. Victor Viesca, Cal State LA
3:10PM – 4:20PM
Illustration & Storyboarding in Sci-Fi
University Student Union 3rd Floor Los Angeles Room (308)Anson Jew, storyboard artist and illustrator (Wonder Woman, World of Warcraft, Fantastic Four)
Frank Forte, storyboard artist and illustrator (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Lovecraft Country, Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out)
Moderated by ADG Past President Mimi Gramatky, University of Southern California
3:10PM – 4:20PM
AI, Power, and Free Will
University Student Union 3rd Floor Alhambra Room (305)Jung Soo Lee, University of California Irvine, “Artificial Knowledge and Intelligence Generated through Power Structures in Octavia Butler's Dawn”
Mark Balaguer, California State University Los Angeles, “Why the Market Value of Free Will is $99.99: Ted Chiang’s ‘What’s Expected of Us’”
Wanna Play?
Games Room
2nd Floor U-SUOpen Gameplay (including 2 gaming stations) from 10am–2pm.
Mario Kart 8 group games from 2pm–4pm.
Friday,
October 20th
This event is free to all students and faculty members from any high school, college, or university. It is also free to all members of the Cal State LA and UC Riverside communities, as well as to all members of the Art Directors Guild. Just show your school identification card or your union card at the entrance to the event.
Parking: There is free public parking available across the street from the Courtyard Monterey Park underneath the mall.
9:00AM – 10:30AM
Continental Breakfast
Marriott Courtyard 2nd Floor Outdoor PatioGrab some coffee and a bite before the first panels of the day.
10:00AM – 11:10AM
Avatars and AI in Contemporary Video Games
Venus/Mercury Room (2nd Floor)Pawel Frelik, University of Warsaw, "’All Your Character Are Belong to Us’: Avatars and In-game Characters As Players' Speculative Extensions”
David Shipko, Johns Hopkins University, “‘Opportunity knocks’: Artificial Intelligence, Capital Accumulation, and the End(s) of Humanity in Ixion (2022)”
10:00AM – 11:10AM
Gender in European Speculative Literature
Saturn/Mars Room (2nd Floor)Katie Howard, Cal State LA, Department of Philosophy, “Technologies of Care in Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun”
Katherine Weiss, Cal State LA, Department of English, “Venus Attacks: Women Haunting Beckett”
11:20AM – 12:25PM
A View Into the Future: An Introduction to the Lucas Museum
Venus/Mercury Room (2nd Floor)Ryan Linkof, Curator and Manager of Collections Development, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Joan Jocson-Singh, Director of the Library, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Patrick B. Sharp, Cal State LA (moderator)
11:20AM – 12:25PM
New Perspectives in an Old Industry: Writers of Color in 21st Century Hollywood
Saturn/Mars Room (2nd Floor)Brandon Easton, writer, Iyanu: Child of Wonder, Agent Carter, Star Trek: Year Five, Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom
More panelists TBA
12:30PM – 1:30PM
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Lunch Reception
Marriott Courtyard 2nd Floor Outdoor PatioJoin us for a light lunch and conversation about speculative genres, narrative art, and the future of the Lucas Museum.
1:40PM – 2:45PM
Radical Sovereignty: New, Old, and Emerging Roads to Indigenous Futurity
Venus/Mercury Room (2nd Floor)Carolyn Dunn, Cal State LA, Department of Theatre (Tunica/Choctaw-Biloxi, Mvskoke Creek and Cherokee)
Laura Harjo, University of Oklahoma (Mvskoke Creek)
Arigon Starr, singer and actor (Kickapoo/Mvskoke Creek)
Ryder Perez, Cal State LA, Department of Theatre (Yaqui)
Jeszebel Millan, Cal State LA, Department of Theatre (Purapecha)
1:40PM – 2:45PM
Neurodivergence in Speculative Fiction
Saturn/Mars Room (2nd Floor)Rachel S. Anderson, Grand Valley State University, “’I Don’t Want to Be Human’: The Neurodivergent Reader Response to Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries Series”
Emily Aguilar, Cal State LA, “Autism as a Metaphor for Resistance in Rivers Solomon's An Unkindness of Ghosts”
2:55PM – 4:00PM
Sentience and Divinity: The Narrative Art of Lucifer
Venus/Mercury Room (2nd Floor)Alex Hajdu, production designer (Lucifer, The Walking Dead)
Tim Wilcox, illustrator (Lucifer, AI, Contact)
Patrick Sharp, Cal State LA, Department of Liberal Studies (moderator)
2:55PM – 4:00PM
Emerging Ontologies of Artificial Intelligence
Saturn/Mars Room (2nd Floor)Joshua Pearson, Cal State LA, Department of Liberal Studies, “Why ‘Hallucination?’: Exploring the Stakes of How We Label AI Lies”
Stina Attebery, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, “Rocks and Other Intelligences: How do Indigenous Ontologies Transform the Conversation Around AI?”
4:15PM – 7:00PM
Dessert Bar & Closing Reception
Jupiter Room (2nd Floor)