Since 2003, I have led a cartoon initiative called Cartoon Storytelling in which participants use real life experiences as prompt for a new story. Through a variety of creativity and writing exercises, participants learn about the art of cartooning while also creating a new story driven by a personal search to understand something about themselves.
The stories are often motivated by a personal pain -- a response to being bullied, grappling with self-esteem issues, healing a damaged relationship are most common. Very often the response from participants is: 'this is just what I needed and wasn't getting.'
Most recently, we presented the initiative in Hungary to produce the book Debrecen Tales: An International Experience, a co-production between the City of Debrecen and the University of Debrecen. The central focus of these cartoons was: living in Debrecen during times of pandemic, war, and social unrest. It features the work of Hungary-based artists originating from across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Last month in Japan we completed Tokyo Cartoon Vol. III, a collection of cartoons we produced in cooperation with the University of Tokyo and The Fulbright Program.
![A collection of cartoons from Steven Fischer's Cartoon Storytelling initiative.](https://www.pacesconnection.com/fileSendAction/fcType/0/fcOid/532480346860853417/filePointer/532480346860853472/fodoid/532480346860853468/imageType/MEDIUM/inlineImage/true/mceclip0.jpg)
If you know of an organization that might benefit from Cartoon Storytelling, please reach out. I'd appreciate the chance to discuss. http://www.stevenfischer.net
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