Documentary Screening with Veteran New Yorker Cartoonist Liza Donnelly and Sara Thurber Sauers
Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 pm at the Wexner Center for the Arts
This event is presented in partnership with Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
Join us for this free screening of the documentary film “Women Laughing,” followed by a conversation with veteran New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly and James Thurber’s granddaughter Sara Thurber Sauers. You will have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions after the event.
The event is free, but you must register. For tickets, please click the register button below or call the Wexner Center’s Visitor Desk at 614-292-3535. Thurber House is unable to answer questions about tickets or the venue.
(Scroll down for event information.)
About the Film
“Women Laughing” Documentary
In “Women Laughing,” longtime New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly sets out to explore her lifelong passion for women’s humor and cartooning by speaking, laughing, and drawing with a diverse group of remarkable women who create cartoons for the iconic magazine. Inspired by her acclaimed book Very Funny Ladies and Liza’s own biography, the film also looks back at the fascinating history and evolution of single panel cartoons—from the 1920s, to the present—and reveals how far women have come in a field historically dominated by men.
“Women Laughing” includes intimate conversations with some of the most celebrated and groundbreaking cartoonists at The New Yorker. Together, they reflect on the essential work of women cartoonists, and outline the many challenges that lie ahead. Along the way, we hear about what drives them, the obstacles they’ve faced, their creative processes, and much more. The film also journeys back in time to the earliest days of The New Yorker, looking back at the lives of some of the pioneering women cartoonists whose remarkable and dramatic stories have long been overlooked.
“Women Laughing” is ultimately a joyful celebration of women, art, and the creative spirit. It offers a unique insider’s look at the state of women’s humor over the last century, through the perspectives of the pioneering cartoonists, then and now, who have wrestled with some of the central social issues of our time.
To learn more about the film, click here to visit the “Women Laughing” website.
About the Speakers
Cartoonist Liza Donnelly
Liza Donnelly is a writer, director and award-winning cartoonist with The New Yorker, where she has been drawing cartoons and writing about culture and politics for forty years. She has contributed to CBS News and CNN, creating political cartoons as well as live-drawing special cultural and political events. Liza writes and draws for The New York Times and CNN Opinion pages and The Washington Post. Released in 2025, Liza co-directed the new documentary, “Women Laughing,” inspired by her book, Very Funny Ladies: The Women Cartoonists of The New Yorker (Prometheus, 2022).
Liza’s TED talk, “Drawing On Humor For Change,” was translated into 42 languages and viewed over 1.5 million times. She has spoken at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, The New Yorker Festival, SXSW, TEDx, universities, NGOs and corporate venues in the US and abroad and is a Cultural Envoy for the US State Department.
Both on location and remotely, Liza has covered presidential debates, State of the Union, The Impeachment Trial, election returns, the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys, the BET Awards, the Tonys, the Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, literary events, and more. Liza is the author/editor of eighteen books, including the 2014 Thurber Prize finalist, Women on Men.
Liza Donnelly is a member of the international project Cartooning for Peace, helping to promote understanding through humor. Her work has been in numerous exhibitions globally, including a solo exhibition at the Normal Rockwell Museum, and she has curated exhibits of international cartoonists, here and abroad. Her cartoons are in the Library of Congress Prints Collection, The Museum of Illustration, and numerous books around the world. Liza was a Barnard College Distinguished Leader and Vassar College Visiting Scholar, and was awarded a PhD from the University of Connecticut.
Conversation Partner Sara Thurber Sauers
Sara Thurber Sauers is the granddaughter of famed cartoonist and writer James Thurber. Sara works as a typographic designer and letterpress printer who designs and produces books and other printed matter using both historical and contemporary print production methods. From her Iowa City letterpress shop, she publishes literary fine press books under the Catstep Press imprint and operates Bun Fight Press for selected job printing. She is a freelance book designer for the University of Iowa Press.
Sara teaches courses in letterpress printing and in digital design and printing. In 2002 she received the Carl Hertzog Award for Excellence in Book Design for her work on No Shortcuts: An Essay on Wood Engraving by Barry Moser (Center for the Book Editions, 2001).
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‣ Documentary Screening at the Wexner Center for the Arts | 7:00-7:45 pm
Wexner Center for the Arts (1871 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210)
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the film!
‣ Conversation with Liza and Sara at the Wexner Center for the Arts | 7:45-8:45 pm
Wexner Center for the Arts (1871 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210)
After the screening, Liza Donnelly and Sara Thurber Sauers will take the stage to talk about the film and answer audience questions.
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This event is free, but you must register. For ticket questions, please visit the Wexner Center’s event page or call the Wexner Center’s Visitor Desk at 614-292-3535. Thurber House is unable to answer questions about tickets.
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‣ Location
The event will take place at the Wexner Center for the Arts (1871 N High St, Columbus, OH 43210).
‣ Parking
The general public receives discounted $5 parking for all CampusParc garages. On the day of the event, request a validation sticker for your parking ticket at the Wexner Center Visitor Desk. Present your validated parking ticket when leaving a CampusParc garage, and the price discount will be automatically applied.
Nearby CampusParc garages:
‣ Ohio Union South Garage (1759 North High Street) is about a block and a half south of the center, with entry gates on High Street and College Road. Visitors can park in this garage anytime.
‣ Arps Garage (1990 College Road North) is about a block north of the Wexner Center, with entry gates on 18th Avenue. It is generally available for visitor parking after 4 PM on weekdays and all day on weekends.
‣ Ohio Union North Garage (1780 College Road South), just north of Ohio Union South, has entry gates on High Street and College Road and is generally available for visitor parking after 4 PM on weekdays and all day on weekends.
Note: The Ohio Union South Garage is recommended to ensure the discount applies.
For parking questions, please call the Wexner Center’s Visitor Desk at 614-292-3535. Thurber House is unable to answer parking questions.
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The Wexner Center for the Arts is dedicated to creating and maintaining inclusive spaces of belonging that are accessible to everyone. To read more about the accessibility of the venue, click here.
If you have questions about accessibility or wish to request an accommodation, please contact the Wexner Center for the Arts by calling (614) 688–3890 or emailing accessibility@wexarts.org.
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For any questions that are not answered here, please email Jess Cox at jcox@thurberhouse.org or call 614-412-5955.
‣ Who is presenting this event? This is a Thurber House event that is being held at the Wexner Center for the Arts and presented in partnership with Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
‣ Will there be a bathroom? Yes, bathrooms will be available.
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Disclaimer: Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by event and program speakers in all mediums are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Thurber House, its affiliates, or its staff/board.