Short Run Seattle

Mission

Short Run focuses on the medium of comics as a coalescence of art and literature. We believe in the intimate experience of holding a book in your hands. That's why we highlight artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the world who make alternative comix and self-published, small press, and handmade books of all kinds. We want to ensure that Seattle is considered a destination for small press artists, and a percolator of comics genius.

Description

Founded in 2011, Short Run Seattle has grown from a one-day comics festival to a year-round nonprofit arts organization. Its leadership includes original co-founder and Executive Director Kelly Froh, who is also a comics artist and art instructor; a Board of Directors consisting of 8 incredibly engaged artists and professionals; 11 Advisory Board members with special knowledge and skills, and our team of loyal volunteers. Short Run was awarded its first NEA ArtWorks grant in 2016 and has been consistently supported by them and local granting organizations such as 4Culture, Creative West, The Washington State Arts Commission (artsWA), and The National Book Foundation.

Our largest program is our annual Short Run Comix Festival. Attracting over 4,000 people and featuring over 250 book artists, Short Run is an antidote for digital fatigue. In this time of increasing media homogeneity, ad-based creative content, and the fragmentation of many artistic communities, Short Run represents an opportunity for artists to connect with each other and their audience of readers. Our festival functions to cross-pollinate creative passions, re-energize artists, and spark the imagination of new generations of both artists and readers who have only just realized what pen, pencil, ink, paint, and paper can do. Short Run is not a networking opportunity, but a community event-bringing together people from across the Puget Sound region and the world in a celebration of the fun, iconoclastic, radical, and sometimes freaky world of book- and zine-making. In centering both seasoned and new artists, the festival honors the idea that the comix medium is at its best when it stretches to include a multitude of perspectives, styles, backgrounds, and experiences.

Recognition

“…Short Run was one of the most invigorating and creatively inspiring shows I’ve ever been to. So much good work, so many even greater vibes- in seven hours I felt like I barely scratched the surface and could have come home with three times as much if time and $$ permitted. Mad respect for Kelly Froh and Co. for creating the best small press show on the west coast (and maybe North America) in our own backyard; we are so lucky to have it.”  Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics

Our Board Members include Jessica Powers, Lylianna Allala, Meredith Li-Vollmer, McKenna Haley, Jessica Lopez, Bryan Littlefield, Kelly Froh, and Megan Kelso.

In 2025, Short Run Comix Festival will be held at Seattle Design Center in Georgetown.