Actor, activist and Eisner winner George Takei headlines the honors at this year’s Eagle-Con, a virtual sci-fi and fantasy conference hosted by Cal State L.A. and the Art Directors Guild.
This year’s Eagle-Con theme, “Possibilities Imagined Here,” celebrates diversity and addresses accessibility, underrepresentation and pushing boundaries in science fiction and fantasy genres over a series of three days, March 11-13.
Takei (“Star Trek,” “They Called Us Enemy”) joins celebrated production designer Wynn Thomas (“Mars Attacks!,” “Hidden Figures”) and best-selling author Nnedi Okorafor (“The Binti Trilogy,” “Black Panther: Long Live the King”) as this year’s awardees. They have long been barrier-breakers for other writers and artists, building impressively varied careers that have impacted millions.
Takei will be honored with the Prism Award for outstanding contributions to diversity in science fiction and fantasy across media on March 12, Thomas will be presented the Imaginator Award for wondrous achievement in visual conceptualization on March 13, and Okorafor will receive the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Award on March 11.
Takei is a social justice activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in “Star Trek,” and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality.
His advocacy is personal. During World War II, Takei spent his childhood in U.S. internment camps along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans. He now serves as chairman emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and, in 2004, was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the emperor of Japan for his contribution to the U.S.-Japan relations.
In 2016, Takei received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Cal State L.A.
This year’s free event also features an online exhibition spotlighting the work of Art Directors Guild members including the work of Imaginator Award honoree Thomas, with drawings from movies such as “Mars Attacks!,” “Hidden Figures” and “Get Smart.”
Eagle-Con is co-founded by the College of Arts and Letters and the University-Student Union at Cal State L.A. and the Art Directors Guild. Together they work to educate the students of Cal State L.A. and members of the Greater Los Angeles community about the history, impact and continued necessity of the contributions of women, BIPOC, the LGBTQIA-identified, the differently abled and the variously aged to the science fiction and fantasy genres.
To attend and view the full schedule, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eagle-con-3-day-experience-tickets-143842810719