Kelli Anderson, Parallel Press, Noble Signs and Angela Lian: Tickets now available for June’s Nicer Tuesdays in New York!

Summer is round the corner in New York and we’re back soon for our next Nicer Tuesdays, bringing yet another awe inspiring line-up of speakers back to the SVA Theatre on 2 June 2026.

At the event you can expect to hear talks from graphic design studio and publisher Parallel Press on its latest book Astro Black: The first book to catalogue the story of 18 Black astronauts, pilots, scientists and engineers who embarked on journeys into space. We’ll also be joined by graphic designer and performance artist Angela Lian for an insight into how she uses her body to merge dance, video collage and design to create a physical practice that raises awareness for disability in the art and design world.

Brooklyn-based design studio and New York sign painting icons Noble Signs’ will also be taking to the Nicer tuesdays stage to share some insights into the time-honoured art of handmade signage, and finally, for our Q&A slot the legendary graphic designer and paper engineer Kelli Anderson will be in conversation with our US editor-at-large Elizabeth Goodspeed.

The event will take place on Tuesday 2 June at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in Chelsea. Doors will open at 6:30 pm and the talks will begin around 7pm. The full address is SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, New York, NY10011. It’s a seated event, so get there early to ensure a seat and pick up a drink beforehand!

Please be aware that photography and filming may be taken at this event for marketing and promotional purposes. If you do not want to be photographed or filmed, please speak to our team on the day. Also, if you are in need of disability access, please email [email protected] so we can arrange assistance with the venue team.

Graphic designer and paper engineer Kelli Anderson is best known for two things: her invention of the creative technique we now call Risograph animation and her tendency to design and make “impossible” things with paper – like her latest book Alphabet in Motion: both a feat in engineering and an ingenious interactive pop up book that takes readers through an immersive and tactile history of typography. The designers previous titles also include This Book is a Camera, a working 4x5 camera, made from paper and This Book is a Planetarium, a publication that unfolds into a whole host of paper gadgets. Sitting down with our US editor Elizabeth Goodspeed, Kelli will be inviting us into her tactile, world of publication design.

Akoua Smith and renald Louissaint and will be joining us from graphic design studio and publishing house Parallel Press to talk us through its new book Astro Black: the untold story of Black Americans in space. The first book to catalogue the story of 18 Black astronauts, pilots, scientists and engineers who embarked on journeys into space with Nasa, the publication archives stories, interviews, photos, essays and data to archive the historical and cultural significance that African Americans have made to human space travel. Akoua and renald will be taking us behind the scenes on the research and design decisions that brought the project into being.

Angela Lian’s practice brings together two things that normally orbit quite separate worlds: dance and design. The graphic designer first caught our attention in 2023 with a series of videos that blended TikTok dance trends with unexpected design approaches and we’ve been enamoured ever since. While most of her work exists online, the artist is not a traditional creator, she brings images of herself and work into the format of social media videos to blur the boundaries between art and content. At June’s Nicer Tuesdays in New York Angela will be talking about her personal journey with chronic pain and illness and how she has found a way for her creative work with physicality and movement to support her body’s capacity through video and collage.

Brooklyn-based design studio Noble Signs’ creative philosophy is “design should always start with a pencil.” A team that turns its hands to branding and identity design all the way to the time-honoured art of handmade signage, custom typography and lettering, the studio seeks to explore new approaches to traditional craft. Noble Sign’s co-founder David Barnett will be joining us for our next Nicer Tuesdays event to give us an insight into the creative ideas that are shaping the studio behind the scenes and how they are fusing art, design and traditional techniques to bring the vanishing classic signage of New York City back into being.