The Society of Illustrators hosts MoCCA Week with special exhibits & free admission

Manhattan’s biggest indie comics arts festival is coming with MoCCA Arts Festival! To celebrate, the prestigious Society of Illustrators organization is hosting several comics-related exhibits and openings as part of what’s being called MoCCA Week, taking place from Wednesday, March 19th, to Saturday, March 22nd, 2025, during regular business hours.

To make matters even more impressive, admission that week is free.

MoCCA Week at the Society of Illustrators will immediately follow right after the MoCCA Arts Festival.

It will serve as an extension of the festival, bringing comics-related exhibits to the museum.

There will be two special exhibits featured on display at the Society’s headquarters at 128 East 63rd Street: Modern Comics and Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration. Both exhibits are open until May 3rd, 2025.

You can read about their details below, courtesy of SI itself.

Modern Comics spotlights the work of four artists whose works are among the major achievements of comics today. John Hankiewicz, Aidan Koch, Olivier Schrauwen and Lale Westvind each make work that consistently surprises readers with fresh insights into the comics form while offering deeply sensitive and highly personalized expressions of the contemporary human condition. On display from March 19th to May 3rd, this exhibit is curated by comics specialist Bill Kartalopoulos, Programming Director for the MoCCA Arts Festival. Atop of this, the March 20th opening reception will feature live music by Eleanor and Dario and is free and open to the public from 5-9pm. 

The artists of The New Yorker have long captured culture and politics with subtle wit and sharp insight. From bold brushstrokes to light lines, ink to charcoal, these cartoons reflect our daily lives, helping us laugh through creativity and humor. Now on display at the Society, Drawn From The New Yorker: A Centennial Celebration honors 100 years of the magazine’s iconic cartoons. A selection of this exhibit, curated by Liza Donnelly, will be on display in the second-floor gallery through May 3rd.

Additionally, the Society is presenting a special exhibit on-site at the MoCCA Arts Festival venue at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W 18th Street). This exhibit will only be on view during MoCCA Arts Fest on March 15 and 16th and admission is included with the purchase of a Festival Pass. Details below. 

Self-portrait by Timothy Patrick Moynihan

Located in the exhibitor hall, The Artist Known As M. showcases cartoons by Timothy Patrick Moynihan (known as M.). A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, M. was known for transforming a quiet New England town into a hub of unbridled creativity and free speech. His lively pen-and-ink drawings—spanning both personal and political themes—will be on display throughout the hall to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his passing and celebrate his enduring legacy.

In addition to the exhibit, The M. Prize, created in 2015 in his honor, is a financial award recognizing the outstanding work of independent artists exhibiting at the Fest. Judges select their top five pieces—whether short-form comics, long-form comics, zines, or single images—with the goal of awarding up to 15 Best in Show honors. Award winners will be announced on Saturday, March 15, with their entries included in an online gallery following the Festival.

Finally, at the SVA Flatiron Gallery (133 West 21st Street) will be the exhibit Greetings from Pandemic Island by artist Viktor Koen. The series documents the brutal realities of the 1918–19 influenza and COVID-19 pandemics, exploring personal and collective responsibility, humanity, and indifference. The exhibit will also highlights an intricate web of long-existing layers of racial and socioeconomic disparities catalyzed by the epidemics. The gallery will still be on dispaly duringthe usual MoCCA Programming Fest and week, and guests are being encouraged to attend. 

The Society of Illustrators was founded in 1901 and is America’s longest-standing nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of illustration and its longstanding history. The SI MoCCA Arts Festival is a 2-day multimedia event serving as NYC’s largest independent comics and cartoon festival, drawing over 8,000 attendees each year with over 400 exhibiting artists and other featured guests conducting demos, lectures and panels. 

And if you don’t know, The Beat is also very proud to be MoCCA Fest’s media sponsor this year. We’re planning to have interviews and previews leading up to this year’s events so check back with us soon.