Barbara Yelin appointed to Leibinger Professorship in Comics and Comics Studies at Merz Akademie

The Merz Akademie appointed comics artist Barbara Yelin to the Leibinger Professorship for Comics and Comic Studies. Following the completion of her prestigious international residency at Villa Massimo, she will assume the professorship at Merz Akademie in July 2026. Selected from a large number of outstanding international applications, Barbara Yelin emerged as prima inter pares in a highly competitive appointment process

Barbara Yelin is widely regarded as one of the most internationally renowned comic artists of her generation. Her works – including Irmina, Emmie Arbel: The Color of Memory, and most recently Die Giehse – are distinguished by their combination of artistic storytelling, historical research, and social commentary. Her work has received numerous awards and has been presented in international exhibitions and publications. In addition to her artistic practice, Yelin has long been committed to outreach and fostering networks within the comics community.

With the Leibinger Professorship, Merz Akademie is strengthening its artistic and scholarly engagement with comics across analog, digital, and hybrid forms. The professorship integrates practice and theory and is designed to provide sustained support for comics research and artistic production in the German-speaking world.

A particular focus will be placed on exploring comics as a medium for dialogue and as a research-oriented tool in multi-perspective fictional, biographical, and documentary narratives—for example, in science communication, cultures of remembrance, and postcolonial contexts. With her international network, extensive teaching experience, and proven track record in interdisciplinary collaboration, Barbara Yelin is exceptionally well suited to this profile.

Those who draw observe, see things differently, and perceive more. Those who write expand the horizons of understanding. And comics bring the two together. And I cannot praise highly enough the possibilities offered by the space in between, or how many of its paths remain unexplored. The most important people in this new program, however, will be the future students, who will bring their curiosity, their perspectives, their ideas, and their multiplicity of voices. I very much look forward to supporting them in turning this into a profession. (Barbara Yelin)

The initiative to establish the professorship was led by Dr. Barbara M. Eggert, President of Merz Akademie and a scholar of comics. She approached the Berthold Leibinger Foundation with the proposal for an institutionally anchored professorship in Comics Studies. The foundation supports the initiative and provides substantial funding. Since 2014, the foundation has awarded the Comic Book Prize, thereby demonstrating its commitment to promoting comic culture in German-speaking regions and strengthening Stuttgart as a center for media and culture.

For more than ten years, I have followed Barbara Yelin’s work with great admiration—her contributions as an artist, lecturer, and networker have significantly advanced the medium of comics and its recognition as a complex and relevant art form. We at Merz Akademie are delighted to have secured this exceptional artist for the Leibinger Professorship for Comics and Comics Studies—the first professorship of its kind in the German-speaking countries. As a scholar of comics, it is particularly important to me that we jointly develop a study program in which artistic practice and comics research are closely intertwined, opening new perspectives on the role of comics in art, academia, and society. (Dr. Barbara M. Eggert, President)

The appointment resulted from a highly competitive selection process with numerous outstanding applications from Germany and abroad. The professorship includes the development and implementation of an International Summer School on Comics as well as a part-time Master’s program in Comics and Comics Studies. Through these initiatives, Merz Akademie is providing significant momentum for the institutionalization of Comics Studies at universities and further advancing its work in the fields of narration, illustration, and visual communication.