Contact/
aisha@fraufranz.com
Aisha Franz is a comic book artist and illustrator based in Berlin. Her latest graphic novel "Work-Life Balance” (drawn & quarterly) won the Max and Moritz Prize for best German-language comic in 2022 and was nominated for the FIBD Angoulême award. Her previous book "Shit Is Real" was nominated for the L.A. Times Book Award in 2019.
Aside from creating illustrations and comic books for newspapers and magazines, Aisha is also actively involved in running the residency project CLUBHOUSE alongside the Berlin-based riso print studio, Colorama and artist Leonie Ott.
CV/
Education
2004 - 2010
Kunsthochschule Kassel, MFA in Visual Communication
„Comic/Illustration“
2010 - 2011
Kunsthochschule Kassel „Meisterschüler“ study course
Selected books
Alien / Januar 2011 / Reprodukt, Berlin
French: Petite Terrienne / 2012 / Çá et lá
Italian: Alien / 2013 / Canicola, Bologna
Spanish: Planeta Tierra / 2014 / La Cúpula
English: Earthling / 2014 / Drawn & Quarterly
Korean: 2016 /
Spanish (South America): Alien / 2018 / Musaraña
Brigitte und der Perlenhort / Juni 2012 / Reprodukt, Berlin
French: Brigitte Et La Perle Cachée / 2013 / Ça et lá
Shit Is Real/ März 2016 / Reprodukt, Berlin
French: Shit Is Real/ Januar 2017 / L‘Employé Du Moi
English: Shit Is Real / 2018 Drawn & Quarterly
Where Is Aisha / 2020 / Colorama, Berlin
Das Jungfernhäutchen gibt es nicht / Juni 2020 / Maro Verlag, Berlin
Work-Life-Balance / März 2022 / Reprodukt, Berlin
French: Work-Life Balance / 2022 / L’Employé Du Moi
English: Work-Life Balance/2023/ Drawn & Quarterly
Selected minicomics und zines
Brigitte 1-4 / 2011-2012 / Self-published
EYEZ / 24 Seiten / März 2016 / Kuš, Riga
MobileTreatments / 2018 / Nieves, Zürich
Work-Life-Balance 1-4 / 2016 - 2019 / Colorama, Berlin
Haare/ 2023/ Kabinett, Vienna
Other contributions/ publications (selection)
Los secretos de mi madre / 2012 / Strapazin, Zürich
La Cigogne / 2014 / Échos (L‘Employé du Moi), Brussels
Is She Dead/ 2014 / Š (kuš), Riga
Kim & Mickey / 2014 / Canicola, Bologna
Nabotland / 2016 / Franky (Les Requins Marteaux), Bordeaux
Malaparte II / 2019 / Kramers Ergot (Fantagraphics)
Gender Traffic / 2019 / SPRING #16/ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max-und-Moritz-Preis
Projects/collectives
2010 / Co-founding of selfpublishing collective
„The Treasure Fleet“, Berlin
2016 - 17/ Co-Editor of experimental publication series with
Reprodukt, Berlin
Since 2016 / Co-Founder of Collaboration - and residency project „CLUBHOUSE“
in collaboration with Riso studio Colorama, Berlin
Selected awards and fellowships
2012 / Sondermann-Award for „Best Newcomer“,
Frankfurt Bookfair
2013 / „Best foreign Comic-Author“ (Alien)
10. Treviso Comic Book Festival
2019 / Shit Is Real shortlisted for L.A. Times Book Awards /
Los Angeles, USA
2020 /Comicstipend Berlin
2022/ Max und Moritz-Prize „Best German Comic“
for Work-Life-Balance
2023/ Work-Life Balance shortlisted in the „Sélection officielle du
festival d’Angoulême“
Residencies
2012 / „Osmose“ in Salvador da Bahia, Brasil
Goethe Institut Porto Alegre
2013 / „Comictransfer“+ BilBolBul, Bologna,
Goethe Institut Rome
2013 / Illustration Residency „VOLK“, Straßburg
2017/ „Trans Comic“, Mexico City
Goethe Institut Mexico City
2020/ Pierre, Feuille, Ciseaux 7, Dignac
Association ChiFouMi
Solo exhibitions
2011 / This is reality, Greg / Fumetto, Luzern
2012 / Welcome To Miami / Next Comics, Linz
2013 / Lucky You! / BilBolBul, Bologna
2013 / Off The Record / Grafixx, Antwerpen
2016 / When Shit Gets Real / Pictoplasma, Berlin
2022/ Work-Life-Balance / Comicfestival Hamburg
Selected group exhibitions
2012 / Damenstammtisch (Strapazin) / Fumetto, Luzern
2013 / Comics aus Berlin. Bilder einer Stadt / Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin
2014 / Group Expo / Boomfest, St. Petersburg
2015 / Comics Zur Lage Der Welt / Neurotitan, Berlin
2015 / Comic Transfer / Zentralbibliothek, Hamburg
2016 / Comic Tragics / Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
2017 / Shit Is Real and other stories / Vertigo Galeria, Mexico City
2019 / SPRING #16 / Frappant e.V., Hamburg
2020 / Berliner Comicstipendiums, MfK Berlin
2021 / Vorbilderinnen. Feminismus im Comic / Institut Francais, München
Selected readings/lectures
2012 / Livraria Saraiva, Salvador da Bahia
2013 / Goethe Institut, Bogotá
2013 / Grafixx, Antwerp
2014 / Boomfest, St. Petersburg
2015 / Wortlaut St. Gallen
2018 / ELCAF, London
2018 / Writer’s Festival Singapore + Literary Fest, Hong Kong
2019 / Books First (Goethe Institut) New York, Atlanta und Los Angeles, USA
2022/ LIX Lesereihe München
2023/ VANCAF Vancouver
2023/ MCAF Montréal / Librairie Drawn&Quarterly
Selected Teaching
2014- 2018 /
Teaching assistant and coordinator in the comic/illustration programme,
Kunsthochschule Kassel
2010 / Comic+Illustration Seminar
for 1st year students of Visual Communication,
2011 / FH Düsseldorf/ BA Communication Design
Comic-Workshop „Storytelling“
2013 / Comic-Seminar „Biographies“
for 1. Bachelor Illustration, Burg Giebichenstein Halle
in collaboration with Prof. Georg Barber.
2014 / Guest Critic and Workshop im PRATT Institute NYC
2015 / Workshop on graphic storytelling in collaboration with Kuš,
Goethe Institut, Riga
2019 / Guest lecturer at Fakultät für Gestaltung, Würzburg
2023 / Guest Lecturer at DePaul, Chicaco, IL
2023 / Comic+Illustration workshop for BA + MA Students, Burg Giebichenstein Halle
2023 / Masterclass at Sint Lucas Antwerp, School of Arts