An illustration developed for Third Coast International Audio Festival’s Call for Entries, a completely independent and community oriented narrative audio organization. This is the first year in their 20 years of running that they are totally independent, and we wanted the illustration to really highlight the community and horizontal nature of the organization, and show that they are continuing to build a new future for more creative, diverse and global audio narratives.

2024.

Sketch 1: This sketch is centered around the idea of Third Coast “sowing” it’s seeds for a future of independent abundance. Community gardens provide a place of gathering, democracy, and literal growing. There’s also a wide variety of ages and people, and the passing on of skills (in this case, gardening) to others. Someone is also preparing food, to literally nourish the people around them, the way Third Coast is trying to give back to the audio community with its mission.

Sketch 2: I wanted to thematically focus on independence and building interconnected systems. There are little worlds, but the bridges between them represent Third Coast’s mission of building connections in the audio world. We have the different versions of the audio experience, including people playing with a tin can and a string. This also is an optimistic setting, like building castles in the sky, showing that Third Coast is thinking further than what is already being offered.

Sketch 3: This sketch is thematically about building a new future. It depicts people constructing tree houses that have a magical air, showing the communal work in creating them. It also references a DIY spirit and an independence. There’s different scenes around depicting the audio experience, dancing, listening on your own, recording, broadcasting. The birds interact a lot in this one as well, referencing the mascot but also a wider ability to listen to things outside of the norm, and a cooperation within an ecosystem.