For most vocations – plumbing, say, the law, farming, whatever – the social need one is fulfilling, the point, is fairly plain. But what is art making for? What is storytelling? Might it simply be a thinly veiled exercise in self-indulgence? Would that matter? Drawing from his own practice, experience and observation as well as from explorations in the literature of human nature, evolution and history, Nilsen will discuss the sometimes surprising ways his own answers to these questions have evolved and unfolded since his time as a student, in parallel with his own work, over the course of a life and career spent drawing pictures and telling stories. Participants will be guided through a short series of collaborative comics exercises to further draw out the questions for their own practice.

Bio: Anders Nilsen is the artist and author of eight books including Big Questions, The End, and Poetry is Useless as well as the coloring book A Walk in Eden. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Poetry Magazine, Kramer's Ergot, Pitchfork, Medium and elsewhere. His comics have been translated into several languages overseas and his painting and drawing have been exhibited internationally. Nilsen's work has received three Ignatz awards as well as the Lynd Ward Prize for the Graphic Novel and Big Questions was listed as a New York Times Notable Book in 2011. Nilsen grew up in Minneapolis and Northern New Hampshire. He studied art in New Mexico and lived in Chicago for over a decade. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon.