Lila Quintero Weaver, creator of the award-winning graphic novel Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White, is in residency at UNC Charlotte this week, September 25-29, working with students in the departments of theatre, art, English, and education. Her visit to Charlotte, where she is also leading classes at Vance High School, initiates the Framing Civil Rights: Graphic Novels in Artistic Spaces project, in which students explore issues of civil rights through storytelling and the graphic novel form. The project will culminate in a public presentation of student work on November 16.
Through black and white illustrations, Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White tells the story of Weaver’s childhood in Alabama, where her family moved in 1961 from Argentina. Her memoir is both an eyewitness account of the 1960s civil rights movement and a personal narrative about growing up as a Latina in a black and white American South.
While at UNC Charlotte, Weaver is addressing students in classes such as Children’s Book Illustration, Multiculturalism and Children’s Literature, Scenic Design, and Costume History. She will also travel to Vance High School to speak to theatre and visual art classes. Her account of the genesis of her memoir anchors each of her classroom sessions.
Following Weaver’s residency, participating faculty and students will complete projects that frame and reframe topics of civil rights across different creative disciplines. The public presentation of their work on November 16 will take place at 4:30 pm in the Black Box Theater in Robinson Hall.
Framing Civil Rights: Graphic Novels in Artistic Spaces is led by Associate Professor of Theatre Education Beth Murray and supported by the UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Diversity Fund. Participating UNC Charlotte faculty include:
- Aly Amidei, Costume Design (Theatre)
- Tom Burch, Scenic Design (Theatre)
- Paula Connolly, Multicultural Children’s Literature (English)
- Jamie Franki, Illustration (Art & Art History)
- Erin Miller, Critical Multicultural Education (Elementary Education)
- Spencer Salas, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Middle Secondary Education)
- Robin Witt, Directing (Theatre)
To learn more about Lila Quintero Weaver, please visit her website.