Article : Screen Readable Comics

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Why do they need to be screenreadable?

Pixilated online comic are not accessible to everybody. A screen reader is unable to read out text from image files in .jpg format. A screen reader is a tool that converts text and HTML structures into a form accessible for readers using a speech synthesizer or a braille display. The output is acoustic or tactile. People that surf my website with speech synthesizer or braille display would not have access to the comics. How can I change that? Continue reading →

Article : sketches and notes hosted here first

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I want more control over my data, therefore I will first publish #immerzeichnen Sketches and part of my tweets and facebook updates here.

Starting this week, this website got its own sketchbook: www.annaheger.de/immerzeichnen. Posting excerpts from my sketchbook and from work in progress projects motivates me to keep going and to sketch regularly. I created the hashtag #immerzeichen to tie these posts together and enable my followers to mute the stream of visual input if necessary. Continue reading →

Comic Documentation: Erika Mann Exhibition in Monacensia in Hildebrandthaus in Munich

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The Monacensia in Munich invited Bloggers to experience their Erika Mann exhibition. They are part of the pubic library in Munich and host the literary estate of the whole Mann familiy. We were introduced to the house, their archival work, the Erika Mann exhibition and a lyrically live performance. I was watch and listened and kept sketching away.

Introduction of the library: “Monacensia operates as literary memory for Munich”.

3 bloggers in the exhibition

My ink sketches and a view of the Erika Mann Exhibition.

sketchbook and view of Erika Mann exhibition
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Short Stories: Layers of naked (BuchLabs Series 2)

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We took a one week break from our daily lifes and met at Waldschlösschen Academy near Göttingen to write a book with queer short stories. The framework for the book was set by Bram and Mio, the creators of the BuchLabs Series, a collaborative creative writing project for queer authors. Queer life is relevant. Let’s make a book out of it.

We worked layers of experiences into short stories. The stories touch LGBTQ topics and deal with neurodiversity, bigotry, passing, kinds of family, and the meaning of nakedness, illness and joy. I feel full of joy for my stories and elated at the coauthor’s stories that I saw come into existence and grow. I am happy about all the insights I got from them and the input I gave to them.

read excerpt of the book

‘Layers of naked’. BuchLabs Series. 104 Seiten, 12 x 19 cm. ISBN 978-94-93149-02-1. € 10.

Caroline Ausserer
Niu Borge
Jona Brink
né Fink
Anna Gulczyńska
Anna Heger
Karim Kehrwieder
Benjamin Löhmke
Wim Rooth

Workshop: Nonbinary Gender Label Biographies Bern

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I will participate a the Trans Congress in Bern with a workshop. On Sunday, the 8th of September at 3pm I will facilitate a workshop on sharing our experiences with gender labels. Choosing labels is often not easy for trans people that are not binary trans.

Nonbinary Gender Label Biographies

Finding gender labels that fit and dealing with wrong gender labels is especially hard for nonbinary trans people. This workshop is for all people on the trans spectrum that are not (only) trans men and trans women. You may call yourself nonbinary or not.

The workshop will provide a space for each to talk about how our gender labels changed and provide the opportunity to listen to each other. Finding gender labels that fits is not straight forward, but there is happiness in being seen and understood. The workshop will be held in English and the gender labels may be in any language.

Overview over all workshops.

ComicChallenge : Walking home 100 miles

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This is an entry for the DailyComicChallenge, that the comic maker Henna Hoplin started. The topic from the 11.4.2015 was WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL… You don’t know stuff until you know it. How did it change how you think or act? Did it? How did it feel to suddenly realize and understand something new or from a totally different point of view?

The story takes play in a childrens camp. When I was 20 I was the arts and crafts teacher there.

Walking Home

 

 

Minicomic 05 : Laboratory ventilation

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Content Warning

The comics deals with suicide of another person.

Background to the Comic

The following minicomic concerns an incident at the university workplace I was at at the time. The comic is dedicated to my former colleagues, all of them. I often wondered what I have done in spring and summer of 2009 and do not remember. And then I do with sadness. I am glad though how well we did take care of each other even though that was a work environment.

Go to screenreadable comic version

visual version of the comic

Page 2 of Minicomic 5, called Laboratory Ventilation, the entire comic is transcribed to plain text Continue reading →

Minicomic 04 : Fresh spinach

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The English translation of this comic can be found underneath the comic. Somebody told me this story and asked me to make a comic from it.

#1 Fresh spinach

#2+3 Daddy, Daaaaddy, Daaad, I want chocolate chip cookies! / Daddy, is that a man or a woman. / Great!

#4 Come on the cookies are over there.

#7 What is that? / What?

#8+9 That? / Oh right, this is spinach.

#10 It does not look like spinach, well I only know it frozen.

#11 But it looks like smallish mangold. / Fresh spinach!

visuals & text: Anna Heger, 2010

Minicomic 02 : In the next village

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The English translation of this comic can be found underneath the comic. This comics deals with friendship dynamics of two different friendships that I combined. Pronouns are not used at all. Instead little symbols in the form of t-shirts are used: [o] and [w] are used in the translation.

English translation

#1 In the next village.

#2 [o] (I) only need 20 minutes or maybe half an hour to walk to the next village.

#3 (sign: next village) When [o] was in fourth grade [w] lived there.

#5 [w]’s village is on the other side of the river.

#6 It seems as if [o] could see [w] standing there now.

#7+8 [o] would scream something, but not be able to understand ‘s reply.

#9 When [o] met [w] years later, [o] did not think of the next village right away, but noticed a mixture of closeness and competition between us. We do not understand each other, but [w] talks the way everybody did when [o] was a kid.

visuals & text : AnnaHeger 2010

Genderneutral Pronouns

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Here an overview of genderneutral pronouns in English, you can find a description of German gender neutral pronouns on the Pronouns Page.

Each alternative is tested with the following example sentence: “The reader comments the post. He himself leaves a link to his blog”.

Invented Pronouns

“The reader comments the post. Zie hirself leaves a link to hir blog.”

“The reader comments the post. Per perself leaves a link to per blog.”

Using the singular they

“The reader comments the post. They themselves leaves a link to their blog.”

Existing Slang Words

“The reader comments the post. Yo leaves a link.” Grammar Girl

Übersichtsseite “A General & Specific Discussion of Gender-Neutral Alternatives to Gendered Pronouns, Including Answers to Frequently Asked Questions” GENDER-NEUTRAL PRONOUN FAQ

Workshop: Challenging relationships

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Sunday, 11.4.09, Jacky and me will give a Workshop in Vienna at Autonom-Feministischen Frauen-Lesben-Treffen. Here a short summary:

Challenging relationships

Which concepts, promises, beliefs and images are associated with a non-monogamous lifestyle? What role do these images play in my relationship practice and how do they affect relationship dynamics?

This workshop is for women who are in one, none or many relationships and who wish to challenge relationship norms with us.