Slice local Best in Show Award
The St. Louis Independent Comics Expo is excited to award one local artist a $500 prize thanks to matching support from WashU’s MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program.
The SLICE Local Best in Show Award, presented by WashU’s WashU's MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program, provides independent artists in the St. Louis area with funding to support their creative pursuits. While providing free programming for budding artists is our goal, being able to financially support an artist aligns with our mission to make the arts accessible. Our goal is to uplift, celebrate, and platform a local emerging artist.
Judging Process
The SLICE application judging panel nominates a shortlist of SLICE exhibitors from the Greater St. Louis and Metro East regions and selects a grand prize winner on the basis of quality, uniqueness, and resonance. The winner of the Local Best in Show Award will be announced at SLICE'S Opening Night Ceremony on Friday October 30, 2026 at The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries.
About WashU’s MFA-IVC
Chaired by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator John Hendrix, the MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture program at WashU’s Sam Fox School combines studio practice in illustration and writing with the study of visual and material culture. With a focus on illustrator authorship, this two-year, fully residential program is made for illustrators, comic artists, and designers who are interested in popular visual matters of the modern and contemporary periods. We draw on the vast resources of WashU, including the Dowd Illustration Research Archive.
2026 Shortlist
Court Normandin
ABOUT COURT NORMANDIN
Court Normandin is an illustrator, painter, and "completely typical human being" from southern New Hampshire. They create things many people may call "drawings" or "artwork;" sometimes, these "artworks" contain "text," and are arranged in "sequential order." Most of these contain people, but some of them don't. Court graduated from Maine College of Art & Design in 2022, and is a first-year candidate at WashU's MFA-IVC program. When not drawing, they spend their time watching movies of mixed quality, playing on the computer, and listening to emo music unironically.
Instagram: @crvptozoology
Dee Cea
ABOUT DEE CEA
Dee Cea is a St. Louis based illustrator and comic artist. They explore monstrous emotion in their comic work with a focus on queer becoming and otherness. Dee is currently conducting research for a long-form graphic novel detailing an isolated community in the Andes during Pinochet-era Chile.
Instagram: @CrayfishCoffee
Nayzha Khalil
ABOUT NAYZHA KHALIL
Nayzha Khalil (OopsieeDaisiee) is a St. Louis based cartoonist and illustrator who specializes in creating uplifting African American stories and imagery. Her work uses archival research to merge African American history, pop culture, and fashion into a uniquely curated lens of black culture. By reintroducing black history in inventive ways, she highlights the importance of the black image now and throughout time.
Social handles:
Website: www.oopsieedaisiee.art
Insta: @oopsieedaiziee
youtube: @oopsieedaisiee
Madison Yang
ABOUT MADISON YANG
Madison Yang is an illustrator and designer who was born and raised in St. Louis. With a love for color, simplicity, and all things cute, she enjoys creating works that largely feature friendly animals on adventures. She strives to spread happiness and a love of animals through her work. She often uses her own cats, Bonbon and Charmin, as inspiration for her drawings. While illustration is her main focus, Madison also has a passion for product design, where she turns her illustrations and characters into a variety of merchandise. She hopes to spread a bit of joy through items people can use or enjoy every day, whether it be a charm on their keys or socks on their feet.
Website: https://www.madison-yang.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myangart
2025 Winners
2024 Winner
Cleonique Hilsaca
First Prize
About Cleonique
Cleonique Hilsaca is an artist from Honduras based in St. Louis, MO. Her creative process is inspired by folklore and nostalgia, fueled by research and idea exploration to bring whimsical stories to life. Her professional work can be found in picture books, newspapers, magazines, board games, and galleries. Clients include Penguin Random House, MTA Arts & Design, Sesame Workshop, and Renegade Game Studios. Cleonique’s work has been honored by Spectrum: Fantastic Art, The Society of Illustrators of NY and LA, 3X3, and La Bienal de Ilustración de México.
Dee Cea
Second Runner Up
ABOUT DEE
Dee Cea is a St. Louis based illustrator and comic artist in love with terracotta red. They explore monstrous emotion in their comic work with a focus on queer becoming and otherness. Dee is currently conducting research for a long-form graphic novel detailing an isolated community in the Andes during Pinochet-era Chile.
Phoebe Santalla
First Runner Up
About Phoebe
Phoebe Santalla is a Saint Louis based cartoonist and comic crafter who is a little too into cars for her own good. She combines queer history, personal introspection, and chaotic imagined realities to craft tales exploring genderqueer identities. An avid zine maker, she believes there’s an urgent need for community survival through publication and sharing printed ephemera.
Alain McAlister
2024 Winner
About Alain
Alain McAlister is a nonbinary artist and illustrator from STL with a passion for graphic novels, comics, fiber arts, and community work. They graduated from Webster University with a BFA in Illustration in December 2023. They currently work as an illustrator, bookseller, and print shop assistant. When not adventuring around, Alain can be found knitting while watching a movie or drawing at a coffee shop.