Everyone’s favorite adorable Star Wars droid (sorry, R2) will be making two special appearances — on Friday from 4 to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m. Also on display: a selection of costumes from The Last Jedi. Location: Awesome Con Jr.
The Science of Black Panther
An panel of experts explore the realities and the possibilities of science, technology, engineering, art, and math in Black Panther, as well as the intersection of pop culture, Africa and Afrofuturism, and how imagination and innovation translates into art, awesome technology, and rewarding careers. Friday, March 30, at 4 p.m., Ballroom.
John Boyega Panel
The Star Wars and Pacific Rim Uprising hero will hold an exclusive Q&A and field questions from the audience. Guests can reserve a “skip-the-line” ticket for $75 that guarantees a seat in the first 10 rows of the three center sections closest to the stage. Saturday, March 31, 6 p.m., Main Stage.
Awesome Con (2017) — Photo: Tom Donohue
John Barrowman Panels
The Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Arrow star will be signing autographs and appearing for photo ops throughout the weekend at Booth 34 in the Exhibit Hall. He will also appear on the Legendary Comics panel on Saturday, March 31, at noon, and for a solo Q&A on the Main Stage at 4:15 p.m.
Autograph Signings
This year’s “featured guests” (who you typically have to pay extra to meet) include Boyega, Barrowman, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Stephen Amell from Arrow, Cress Williams from Black Lightning, Tom Welling from Smallville, Ben Savage from Boy Meets World, and Charisma Carpenter from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Visit Awesome-con.com for schedules and pricing.
Co-presented by Geeks Out, curators of New York’s LGBTQ-themed convention Flame Con, Pride Alley is a full section dedicated exclusively to LGBTQ creators. Awesome Con will also host more than a dozen LGBTQ panels, including “Star Trek Discovery & A New Era of Diversity” on Friday, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m., “Creating Inclusive Gaming Spaces” on Saturday, from 11:30 to 12:15 p.m., and “Let’s Be Wonder Women,” on Saturday, from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.
Awesome Con (2017) — Photo: Tom Donohue
The Awesome Con exhibit hall, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW) is open Friday from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit Awesome-con.com.
"I love being able to meet the people who are seeing my art and have conversations with them," says Kitt Lauro, one of the 34 artists populating this year's Pride Alley at the upcoming Awesome Con. They particularly enjoy giving advice to young budding artists who stop by the booth with their parents.
It makes sense, as Lauro is currently "onboarding as a substitute teacher." They create and sell their artwork online as a successful side gig. The pieces, forged in watercolors, are fanciful and dense with color. "I don't use watercolor in a very traditional manner," says the nonbinary, asexual 31-year-old. "A lot of watercolor is loose and gestural. I'm very strict with where I have structure and line work."
"It's almost a sense of relief to be in Pride Alley," says Rey Arzeno of Rage Gear Studios. "You don't have to worry about who your neighbor is gonna be."
Arzeno and his business partner, Eric Guerrero, have been displaying their wares at Awesome Con for more than a decade, and have reliably participated in the con's Pride Alley, a corridor specifically for LGBTQ creators, since its debut in 2017.
"You book these cons, and you don't know who is gonna be around you and you don't know what the crowds are gonna be like," he explains. But at Pride Alley, the pair can comfortably display their wares, which, while not overtly sexual, possess an extremely gay sensibility.
Rabbits, as well as other animals -- peacocks, hamsters, and cats -- dominate her work, which is typified by a vast range of emotions, from aggressive to melancholic to serene.
"I'm always going for some kind of loud sort of expression," she says. "My illustrations tend to be very suggestive or very erotic or very cute. It's always about some kind of sensual pleasure or dramatic pain."
A librarian by trade -- she currently works at the National Institute of Medicine -- Soltian nonetheless treats her art as a full-time vocation. Her online store, which describes her as a "crafter of indulgences," sells various items based on her works, including pendants, keychains, and even life-sized pillowcases featuring popular comic book characters, such as Nightwing, with whom she admits to being somewhat obsessed.
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