Elizabeth Pich and Stefanie Sargnagel, moderated by Katharina Serles
Komische Künstlerinnen
12. 8. 25, 7 p.m.
Reading and talk with Elizabeth Pich and Stefanie Sargnagel, moderated by Katharina Serles
[in German language]
What’s actually funny? Who is allowed to laugh about what? Why is the medium of comics still often dismissed as trivial or not to be taken seriously in German-speaking countries? Comic artist Elizabeth Pich (Fungirl, War and Peas) and author and illustrator Stefanie Sargnagel (Iowa, Dicht) have plenty of sharp answers to these questions. In a reading and discussion with literary and comics scholar Katharina Serles, they will explore the limits and possibilities of humour and sarcasm, and discuss the social acceptance of female comedy and comics.
Limited capacity, please register at: presse@summeracademy.at
UPDATE: Unfortunately, all places with advance registration are already taken, but there will be a few remaining places available on site.
key data
- Venue
- Stadtgalerie Zwergelgarten
- Date
- 12. 8. 25, 7 p.m.
Stefanie Sargnagel
Stefanie Sargnagel was born in 1986 and studied painting in Daniel Richter's class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. However, she spent more time at her day job in a call centre, explaining: 'Whenever my professor, Daniel Richter, turns up at art student parties, everyone suddenly starts behaving as if God is talking to his disciples. I never know how to deal with it because I am God.' She has been a freelance author since 2016 and has spent more time with her tax consultant since then. She received the BKS Bank Audience Award at the 2016 Ingeborg Bachmann Prize competition. Her two books, Statusmeldungen and Dicht, were bestsellers and the former was made into a film.
Website
Elizabeth Pich
Elizabeth Pich is a German-American comics author. She is the author of Fungirl and co-author of War and Peas. Her books are published in English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Her latest book Fungirl Forever was published in March 2026 in German by Edition Moderne. Pich lives and works in Saarbrücken (DE).
Website
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
2026 Fungirl Forever, Gallery Arts Factory, Paris.
2025 Spooky Season, Erika Fuchs Haus, Schwarzenbach (DE).
2024 Fungirl, Comic Festival Hamburg, Hamburg (DE).
Fungirl, Comic Salon Erlangen, Erlangen (DE).
Fungirl, Fumetto Festival, Luzern (CH).
Group exhibitions
2024 Von der Seite in den Raum, Klingspor Museum, Offenbach (DE).
Publications
Fungirl Forever, Edition Moderne, Zürich - CH, 2026.
Fungirl–Zwei neue Abenteuer, Edition Moderne, Zürich - CH 2025.
Fungirl, Edition Moderne, Zürich - CH, 2024.
Publisher's text Edition Moderne:
‘Elizabeth Pich's character Fungirl is one thing above all: unpredictable.
Fungirl is a young woman with no prospects who spends her days at home masturbating, eating take-away pizza and watching old sitcoms. She runs from one affair to the next and is uninhibited and extreme in everything she does. Her new job at a funeral parlour brings new chaos - her life is a series of absurd, politically incorrect, slapstick situations. With Becky, her flatmate and ex-girlfriend, and Becky's friend Peter, Fungirl experiences bizarre adventures full of alcohol, sex and humour. Their behaviour is inappropriate, vulgar, opportunistic and yet (or precisely because of this) surprisingly human and charming. An ode to screw-ups with a heart of gold.’
Katharina Serles
Literature, comics and visual studies scholar. Also active as a moderator, journalist, cultural politician, singer/performer (Schmusechor) and winemaker (Sande-Serles Wein e. U.). 2019 to 2023 head of the KUPF newspaper; 2020 deputy managing director of KUPF Upper Austria; 2019 to 2024 applicant and collaborator in the research project ‘Visualities of gender in German-language comics’ (gendercomics.net). Since 2018 co-founder and chairwoman of the Austrian Society for Comics (oegec.com).
