Episode #160: Ness Lee & Vivek Shraya - "Death Threat" Spotlight Panel at Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2019

On Fresh is the Word, we like to deliver wisdom through great stories from the minds of bright creatives of pop culture. Through those stories, we like to dissect the journey of our guests and present actionable lessons and advice for our listeners no matter what career or avenue of artistry they pursue. This episode features the spotlight panel that your Fresh is the Word host Kelly "K-Fresh" Frazier moderated at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2019 (TCAF 2019) with Vivek Shraya and Ness Lee about their book Death Threat, released via Arsenal Pulp Press. Vivek Shraya is an artist living in Calgary, Alberta whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, and film and Ness Lee is an illustrator/artist based in Toronto and her work explores the sensitivity of emotional expression using wide range of mediums and surfaces such as ceramics, drawing, painting, mixed media sculpture and murals. During the panel, we talked about why they did the book based on the transphobic hate mail that Vivek began receiving in 2017 and what they hope people get out of it, why they did the book in that particular style, horror and humor, using comics to tell this story, how the book fits in with Vivek’s work in other media, social responsibility when you are part of a marginalized group, the roles of allies, getting “trapped” in your brand/identity and the struggle to break out of it. More Info/Purchase: Death Threat Follow Vivek Shraya: Web: vivekshraya.com Twitter: twitter.com/vivekshraya Instagram: instagram.com/vivekshraya Facebook: facebook.com/vivekshraya Bandcamp: vivekshraya.bandcamp.com Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/vivekshraya Follow Ness Lee: Web: nesslee.com Twitter: twitter.com/nessnesslee Instagram: instagram.com/nessleee FRESH IS THE WORD PATREON: patreon.com/freshistheword THEME MUSIC Courtesy of Knox Money, Bang Belushi, and Foul Mouth. SPONSOR Web: www.20x20apparel.com