Events Archive (2014 - Present)
I’ve been selling my work at conventions and craft fairs since 2014 (while I was still working full-time as a 2D Game Artist), and I’ll never forget my first successful show at Emerald City Comic Con 2014. It really is such an encouraging and validating experience to see people buying your work in person, often going out of their way to return to your booth year after year. I treasure these customer interactions and think of them whenever I’m feeling down. A warm thank you, to anyone who’s stopped by my table!
The following is a list of every convention and gallery show I’ve done since 2014. Click on the event name for images and more info.
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2024
3
- Nov 9, 2024 – Nov 10, 2024 GeekGirlCon 2024 Nov 9, 2024 – Nov 10, 2024
- Mar 29, 2024 – Mar 31, 2024 Sakura-Con 2024 Mar 29, 2024 – Mar 31, 2024
- Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 Pike Place Market 2024 Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024
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2023
3
- Oct 7, 2023 – Oct 8, 2023 GeekGirlCon 2023 Oct 7, 2023 – Oct 8, 2023
- Jul 1, 2023 – Jul 30, 2023 Hyphen Asian Food & Culture: Featured Artist Jul 1, 2023 – Jul 30, 2023
- Feb 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023 Pike Place Market 2023 Feb 1, 2023 – Dec 31, 2023
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2022
1
- Feb 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022 Pike Place Market 2022 Feb 1, 2022 – Dec 31, 2022
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2021
1
- Dec 2, 2021 – Dec 5, 2021 Emerald City Comic Con 2021 Dec 2, 2021 – Dec 5, 2021
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2019
8
- Nov 16, 2019 – Nov 17, 2019 GeekGirlCon 2019 Nov 16, 2019 – Nov 17, 2019
- Oct 19, 2019 Bellingham Comicon 2019 Oct 19, 2019
- Jun 28, 2019 – Jun 30, 2019 ACE Comic Con Seattle 2019 Jun 28, 2019 – Jun 30, 2019
- May 31, 2019 – Jun 2, 2019 Denver Pop Culture Con 2019 May 31, 2019 – Jun 2, 2019
- Apr 19, 2019 – Apr 21, 2019 Sakura-Con 2019 Apr 19, 2019 – Apr 21, 2019
- Apr 6, 2019 Chibi Chibi Con 2019 Apr 6, 2019
- Mar 23, 2019 Kino Spring Artist Alley 2019 Mar 23, 2019
- Mar 14, 2019 – Mar 17, 2019 Emerald City Comic Con 2019 Mar 14, 2019 – Mar 17, 2019
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2018
13
- Dec 22, 2018 – Dec 23, 2018 IllustrAFest 2018 Dec 22, 2018 – Dec 23, 2018
- Dec 1, 2018 Kino Artist Alley 2018 Dec 1, 2018
- Nov 24, 2018 Holiday AAPI Arts & Crafts Fair Nov 24, 2018
- Nov 10, 2018 – Nov 11, 2018 Neon Universe Stevengelion Nov 10, 2018 – Nov 11, 2018
- Oct 27, 2018 – Oct 28, 2018 Geek Girl Con 2018 Oct 27, 2018 – Oct 28, 2018
- Jul 5, 2018 – Jul 8, 2018 Anime Expo 2018 Jul 5, 2018 – Jul 8, 2018
- Jun 23, 2018 Jerk Shack: Artist Feature Jun 23, 2018
- Jun 20, 2018 – Jun 21, 2018 Raw Artists Presents: MAGNIFY Jun 20, 2018 – Jun 21, 2018
- Jun 9, 2018 – Jun 10, 2018 Summer Mahouto Market 2018 Jun 9, 2018 – Jun 10, 2018
- May 31, 2018 Google AAPI Heritage Month May 31, 2018
- May 12, 2018 Seven Lions: Chronicles May 12, 2018
- Mar 30, 2018 – Apr 1, 2018 Sakura-Con 2018 Mar 30, 2018 – Apr 1, 2018
- Mar 1, 2018 – Mar 4, 2018 Emerald City Comic Con 2018 Mar 1, 2018 – Mar 4, 2018
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2017
7
- Dec 9, 2017 – Dec 10, 2017 Holiday Mahouto Market Dec 9, 2017 – Dec 10, 2017
- Dec 2, 2017 Wing Luke Museum: Asian American Santa Dec 2, 2017
- Nov 17, 2017 – Nov 19, 2017 CTN Animation Expo 2017 Nov 17, 2017 – Nov 19, 2017
- Oct 14, 2017 KawaiiWeen: A Creepy Cute Celebration Oct 14, 2017
- Sep 30, 2017 – Oct 1, 2017 Geek Girl Con 2017 Sep 30, 2017 – Oct 1, 2017
- Sep 8, 2017 – Sep 10, 2017 Rose City Comic Con 2017 Sep 8, 2017 – Sep 10, 2017
- Jun 1, 2017 – Dec 31, 2021 Pike Place Market Jun 1, 2017 – Dec 31, 2021
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2016
5
- Nov 5, 2016 – Nov 6, 2016 Jet City Comic Show 2016 Nov 5, 2016 – Nov 6, 2016
- Oct 22, 2016 Bellingham Comic Con 2016 Oct 22, 2016
- Oct 8, 2016 – Oct 9, 2016 Geek Girl Con 2016 Oct 8, 2016 – Oct 9, 2016
- Sep 10, 2016 – Sep 11, 2016 Rose City Comic Con 2016 Sep 10, 2016 – Sep 11, 2016
- Sep 3, 2016 Pokémon PAX Art Show Sep 3, 2016
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2015
10
- Nov 20, 2015 – Nov 22, 2015 CTN Animation Expo 2015 Nov 20, 2015 – Nov 22, 2015
- Oct 31, 2015 – Nov 8, 2015 Cartoon Network Halloween Art Exhibition Oct 31, 2015 – Nov 8, 2015
- Oct 24, 2015 Bellingham Comicon 2015 Oct 24, 2015
- Oct 10, 2015 – Oct 11, 2015 Geek Girl Con 2015 Oct 10, 2015 – Oct 11, 2015
- Sep 19, 2015 – Sep 20, 2015 Rose City Comic Con 2015 Sep 19, 2015 – Sep 20, 2015
- Aug 15, 2015 Wing Luke Asian Art Museum (Demo + Trunk Show) Aug 15, 2015
- Jun 6, 2015 – Jul 28, 2015 Local Color Artist Showcase Jun 6, 2015 – Jul 28, 2015
- May 23, 2015 – May 24, 2015 VanCAF 2015 May 23, 2015 – May 24, 2015
- Apr 3, 2015 – Apr 5, 2015 Sakura-Con 2015 Apr 3, 2015 – Apr 5, 2015
- Mar 27, 2015 – Mar 29, 2015 Emerald City Comic Con 2015 Mar 27, 2015 – Mar 29, 2015
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2014
12
- Nov 21, 2014 – Nov 23, 2014 CTN Animation Expo 2014 Nov 21, 2014 – Nov 23, 2014
- Nov 15, 2014 Akira Toriyama / Dragonball Tribute Show Nov 15, 2014
- Nov 7, 2014 Monster Show! (Fremont Art Walk) Nov 7, 2014
- Oct 24, 2014 – Oct 26, 2014 Pac-Con 2014 Oct 24, 2014 – Oct 26, 2014
- Oct 11, 2014 – Oct 12, 2014 Geek Girl Con 2014 Oct 11, 2014 – Oct 12, 2014
- Sep 20, 2014 – Sep 21, 2014 Rose City Comic Con 2014 Sep 20, 2014 – Sep 21, 2014
- Aug 9, 2014 – Aug 31, 2014 Steven Universe / Adventure Time Exhibition Aug 9, 2014 – Aug 31, 2014
- Mar 28, 2014 – Mar 30, 2014 Emerald City Comic Con 2014 Mar 28, 2014 – Mar 30, 2014
- Mar 22, 2014 – Mar 23, 2014 Bemis Spring Art Show 2014 Mar 22, 2014 – Mar 23, 2014
- Mar 13, 2014 DoubleDown Art Show 2014 Mar 13, 2014
- Jan 24, 2014 – Feb 21, 2014 Great Personality Exhibition/Game Jan 24, 2014 – Feb 21, 2014
- Jan 10, 2014 – Feb 14, 2014 Hayao Miyazaki Tribute Show Jan 10, 2014 – Feb 14, 2014
2023 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2023: This was the year that I “cracked the code” at Pike Place Market and significantly upped my table display game. Sales numbers exceeded my expectations all year long and I felt incredibly grateful to do what I do for a living wage. It was a very exciting year for me! I set up, tore down, and sold my art at Pike Place Market for a total of 112 (!) days in 2023, making it by far the most I’ve ever displayed my “Wendi Chen Art” banner in a single year. I would be delighted if I could match or slightly exceed these numbers in 2024!
2022 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2022: This was the year that I decided to go back to a 9-5 job at a mobile game studio, but ultimately decided that WFH at a tech company wasn’t for me. I sold a mere handful of days at Pike Place Market in 2022, just enough to maintain my license to sell there. While I am happy to have had the opportunity to work for a company like PerBlue, I hope to return to being an independent artist in 2023. It’s still hands-down the most satisfying (albeit challenging) job I’ve ever had!
2021 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2021: This turned out to be a fantastic comeback year for me. I committed to selling multiple days a week at Pike Place Market and had a record-setting summer season due to all the post-COVID recovery shopping. Sales were through the roof for every vendor I spoke to - it was a very exciting time! I also snuck into ECCC, one of my most profitable shows that was scheduled much later in the year than usual (in December). My positive experiences really buoyed my confidence in the Market after a year of zero shows in 2020, so I renewed my license for yet another year!
2020 Reports
Pandemic ruined this year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2019 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2019: This was the year that I hit record-high earnings at a convention, achieved at Sakura-Con in April. I was thrilled to have a string of successful cons but fared much worse in the craft fair circuit (i.e. Pike Place Market). So towards the end of the year, I began looking for full-time work again and returned to the video game industry for some time.
2018 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2018: This was one of my busiest years, and I enjoyed record-setting sales at both Emerald City Comic Con 2018 and Sakura-Con 2018. It always feels good to see improvement from previous years, and having plenty of repeat customers is a real treat. I also flew down to LA to attend Anime Expo 2018, a fun trip which included a studio tour of DreamWorks Animation and many meet-ups with friends. That said, I suffered pretty bad burn-out towards the end of the summer between freelance contract work and social obligations, which caused me to drop the ball and miss Rose City Comic Con for the first time in four years. In 2019 I hope to manage my self-care better so that I can be less stressed, more consistent/dependable, and maaaybe not have a break-down halfway through the year. (Huge apologies and heartfelt thanks to anyone who had to deal with that!) I also plan to take on less contract work, and instead maintain a regular presence at Pike Place Market.
2017 Reports
End-of-Year Review 2017: From a personal standpoint, this was a rough year for me. I took a break from all conventions in the spring and summer to settle personal affairs and take care of my health. I even decided to skip Emerald City Comic Con, which historically was always my most profitable show. Fortunately I made a comeback and had a series of successful shows in the fall and winter. I also had a wonderful time attending CTN Expo 2017 and visiting my friends in LA/Burbank. Next year I hope to do more local shows, and maybe visit LA for Anime Expo!
