Rotterdam / Online, 18 October 2024
in association with Otterdam Furry Arts Festival (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
This conference, the first of its kind, aims to bring together a wide range of scholars and enthusiasts from art, design, cultural studies, human-computer interaction, games, history, psychology, sociology, and among other areas. In doing so, this conference is the first step to formalising a field of ‘furry studies’ that explores and examines this creative community. This conference marks the beginning of legitimising the field as a valid site for contemporary research, and to promote global and cross-field collaboration among furry scholars and those invested in this community.
The conference is part of the Otterdam Furry Arts Festival, a public event celebrating furry culture and art occurring in Rotterdam on 18-20 October 2024, with remote attendance options available. We encourage the wider furry community to take part as well as researchers, and we look forward to the insights this diverse audience will bring.
Registration
Authors and attendees to Furry Studies 2024 require registration. For online attendees, Zoom links will be provided.
Accommodation is available and can be booked through the system.
Venue
Furry Studies 2024 is proud to be hosted by Nieuwe Instituut at the heart of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Schedule and Abstracts
You can find the schedule and abstracts on the Schedule & Abstracts page.
Keynote
Joe Strike
Joe Strike is the author of Furry Nation: The True Story of America’s Most Misunderstood Subculture (2017) and Furry Planet: A World Gone Wild (2023).
Joe has been part of furry fandom since 1988 when he received a surprise invitation to something called a “furry party” at a Philadelphia sci-fi convention. The original “kid in a candy store,” Joe spent his formative years in his parents’ Brooklyn “sweet shop,” absorbing the comic books, cartoons, TV shows and sci-fi movies of the day. Joe’s articles on film, TV, animation and related topics have appeared in a variety of publications including the New York Daily News, Newsday and the New York Press. He has been a regular contributor to the entertainment industry website Animation World Network (awn.com) since 2000 and has interviewed countless cartoon luminaries including Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Brad Bird and Lauren Faust, creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Joe served as a writer/producer of on-air promotional campaigns for Bravo and the Sci-Fi Channel, where he worked with talents like Stan Lee, Ralph Bakshi and the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. He has scripted the Nick Jr. TV series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! and is the author of the young adult furry adventure novel The Incredible Hare.
Sponsors
Furry Studies 2024 has received financial support from primary sponsor Otterdam Furry Arts Festival, and academic sponsor Monash Art, Design and Architecture.