Posted in: Comics | Tagged: coronavirus, coronavirus comics, mocca, new york

New York's MoCCA Cancelled/Postponed, Over Coronavirus Pandemic Fears

The MoCCA Arts Festival is Manhattan's largest independent comics, cartoon and animation festival, spread over a weekend, drawing over 7,000 attendees each year with 400 exhibiting artists displaying their work, award-winning honorees speaking about their careers and artistic processes and other featured artists conducting workshops, lectures and film screenings. I loved attending the few times I have been able to go, and it's the closest the us has to Thought Bubble.

But not this year. At least not on April the 4th and 5th. In what is becoming a depressingly familiar story, the organisers issued the following statement

To our community,

As COVID-19 continues to spread globally, with far reaching disruptions to day-to-day life, the Society has been closely monitoring the situation and how this might affect the MoCCA Arts Festival. New York is now in a state of emergency and the number of cases continues to climb.

It is with the safety and well-being of our community that we have made the difficult decision to reschedule the MoCCA Arts Festival. We are currently working with Metropolitan West to find a suitable replacement date.

There are financial ramifications for all of us with this decision to postpone, but we care about our exhibitors and the community. Please know we will always do the right thing for you.

While New York is not officially calling for events of large gatherings to be canceled, many have been and we do not know what the next few weeks will entail. We recognize the amount of work and finances our exhibitors put into their tables and are trying to minimize the burden on them.

In the next few weeks, as more details are finalized, we will be reaching out to our exhibitors and guests regarding tables and accommodations. We will also reach out separately to all attendees who have already purchased a ticket for the Fest.

In the meantime, we have made the decision to move forward and continue to judge the Awards of Excellence. In addition to the cash prize and Wacom tablets for Gold and Silver medalists, the Society will feature the award winners in an exhibition at the onsite Gallery we build at MoCCA Fest.

Thank you for your understanding. Please follow the guidelines that have been put forward to protect your safety and the safety of your loved ones.

Sincerely,
Anelle Miller
Executive Director, Society of Illustrators

This is the first major comic book show of April to be cancelled/postponed. It won't be the last, will it?

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