Mr Bingo~ How I Got Here (and what I’ve learnt)

Mr Bingo is in NYC and we’re beyond excited to welcome him to the AIGA NY stage for his first public talk!

Join us for a chaotic and entertaining story of how Mr Bingo went from commercial illustrator to building a global fanbase which led him to become the fully independent artist he is today.

Mr. Bingo spills on Social Media, building an audience, creating ‘news’, working with a fanbase/audience, coming up with ideas, crowdfunding, getting attention, going viral, originality, learning how to rap, testing ideas out, meeting strangers, making art, weirdness, doing your own thing (what is art?) pushing boundaries, being a lone wolf, social outrage, selling weird things, art as therapy, stalkers, working during a global pandemic and connecting with people.

All tied together with amusing stories and anecdotes to regale and inspire.

About Mr. Bingo

Mr Bingo was a commercial illustrator for 15 years, working regularly for clients such as The New Yorker, The Guardian, TIME, CH4, The Mighty Boosh & The New York Times. An archive of the thousands of illustrations from this period doesn’t exist online because he got bored once in a motorhome and deleted his entire portfolio website. In 2015 he launched a Kickstarter to fund a book about his Hate Mail project. The campaign featured a rap video and a diverse selection of rewards including being trolled, having your washing up done, going on a date in Wetherspoons, being told to fuck off on Christmas Day and getting shitfaced on a train. He decided around this period to never work for clients ever again and focus on being some sort of artist which he’s done ever since. In 2023 Mr Bingo decided to take an entire year off as an experiment and left London with a rucksack and no plan at 8:40pm on Dec 31st 2022. He was spotted in Sri Lanka, Japan and Cornwall. You can currently find him in his studio/shop at 46 Amwell Street in London. The shop is open on Fridays from 10am – 6:30pm.

Event Series: Design Spotlight
These events are design talks or conversations that feature designers or creative teams sharing top of mind or breakout work.