Graphic illustrations that explore stories of migration to Australia will feature in a new online event at the State Library of Victoria.

The free online event on November 9 uses comic books, zines and graphic novels from the library’s own collection to represent immigration in Australia.

Librarian Daniel Wee says that the graphic image genre is compelling and often confronting but too little recognised in our national story.

He says the event will bring better acknowledgement of graphic books’ contribution to discourse on international border crossings, adding that wordless graphic novels can also transcend language and literacy barriers.

The event will include a panel consisting of: moderator Bernard Caleo, a reader, teacher and maker of comics; Safdar Ahmed, an artist who has published several graphic publications; Dr Daniella Trimboli, a cultural studies academic at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, and; Shaun Tan, an artist, writer and film-maker.

One of Tan’s best known publications is The Arrival, a wordless graphic novel that tells the story of an immigrant father who leaves his family and home to work in a foreign land.

Mr Ahmed has used comics himself to explore his background as a mixed-race person in Australia.

“My graphic novel Still Alive reflects my experiences of volunteering/collaborating with refugees in storytelling projects over the last decade,” he said.

“Cartooning and illustration have a long history of subversion and mockery towards those in power, which makes them very well suited to telling the narratives of migrants, minorities, and other social outsiders,” Mr Ahmed said.

He said that historically, European migrants have brought over graphic works to countries like the US, and have made enormous contributions to literature in the 20^th century.

And there is a strong tradition of diaspora autobiographical work in independent and underground publications, though notes that there needs to be more public visibility on the matter.

“Refugee narratives and the politics of representation around how refugees are framed in mainstream media and political discourses is rarely examined critically, and my graphic novel attempts to do that. I also feel as though the experience of Australia’s Muslim minorities post 9-11 in the context of rising Islamophobia and the trauma of the Christchurch massacre needs more attention, so I hope to do that in my graphic storytelling.” Mr Ahmed said.  

Book a ticket here: https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/window-collections-comics-and-immigration