Incursion Mini Con March 21st-22nd 2pm-7pm FREE ENTRY @mayhemscafe - Cosplay recommended!
Featured Artists
March 21st @gabrielle_phillips_designs_
March 22nd @opus.reads.illustrated
At the heart of Incursion Mini Con are two underserved artists whose work lives at the intersection of art, comic books, storytelling, and nerd culture. Their creations are the anchor for like-minded fans, creators, and collaborators who want to share a space where they can unapologetically be themselves.
Incursion Mini Con is about crossing thresholds, building visibility, and creating room for imagination, culture, and community to collide. This will be a space for discovery, connection, and recognition where emerging brilliance is seen first, felt deeply, and remembered.
Brought to you by the BAAL program (Black Artists Across Lancaster) and @ywcalancaster
For a weekend, @mayhemscafe didn’t feel like itself. Through the Black Art Across Lancaster (BAAL) program @ywcalancaster , the space shifted from a place people casually gather into one designed to center artists with intention.
It didn’t feel like a typical pop-up. It felt constructed. The kind of environment where people arrive expecting to discover something new and to support it. And throughout the weekend, that energy held.
The goal wasn’t just to give artists a place to sell their work. It was to create a full experience. Something that echoed the energy of a convention, where artists aren’t tucked into corners but centered.
And it worked.
For artists like Ro, a Lancaster-based illustrator building his own comic universe, that environment created something rare. His table told a story in progress. Characters he’s been developing for years sat in front of people in a way that felt official. The kind of setup where someone could walk up, flip through prints, grab a sticker and feel like they were stepping into the beginning of something.
And in many ways, they were.
What people took home were early pieces of a world still being built. Work that carries a different kind of meaning when you realize you were there at the start.
That level of intention came directly from the structure of BAAL.
BAAL is built on the idea that emerging artists don’t just need exposure. They need access. They need mentorship, resources, and environments that reflect the level they’re working toward. Mentors stepped into that role fully, actively shaping the experience. They helped build the space, supported their mentees, and made sure the opportunity felt real.
For Ro, the experience became a turning point. It was the kind of environment that reinforces that what he’s building has weight. That there’s an audience for it. That the work doesn’t need to wait to be taken seriously.
Because this was about giving emerging artists the tools and the audience to operate as professionals now. Not later. Not once they’ve “made it.” Now.
And for a weekend, inside a bookstore café in Lancaster, you could see what that kind of investment makes possible.
#lancasterpa #supportlocal
Incursion Mini Con March 21st-22nd 2pm-7pm FREE ENTRY @mayhemscafe - Cosplay recommended!
Brought to you by the BAAL program (Black Artists Across Lancaster) and @ywcalancaster
Our featured artist for March 22nd is @opus.reads.illustrated
My name is Robert “Ro” Potter. I’m a Lancaster based illustrator/painter, and creator of the web comic “Pigeon-Man and The Avian Knights!”
I am inspired from the vast world of comics and manga, as I’ve spent my life reading and collecting them. From a young age, I was taught to embrace my inner-geekiness and push it to the limits. This has led me to tackle such themes in my work such as identity and societal critiques wrapped in swashbuckling tales featuring characters that I’ve grown to evolve with.
With full confidence, I create a world of my own!
Hang out for poster signings, sticker give aways, and photos with Ro!
Incursion Mini Con March 21st-22nd 2pm-7pm FREE ENTRY @mayhemscafe - Cosplay recommended!
Brought to you by the BAAL program (Black Artists Across Lancaster) and @ywcalancaster
Our featured artist for March 21st is @gabrielle_phillips_designs_
My name is Gabrielle Phillips, and my journey as an artist is inseparable from my journey as a person. I was born with cerebral palsy on my right side, and I use a wheelchair — experiences that have shaped not only how I move through the world, but also how I see it. Where others might see limitation, I have always found motivation to adapt, to create, and to express myself through art.
From an early age, I discovered that art gave me a voice beyond words. It became the place where I could explore freely, translate my perspective, and share beauty in ways that felt uniquely my own. Over time, I gravitated toward realism because it allows me to honor detail — the subtle play of light, the texture of skin, the quiet emotion in an expression.
Hang out for poster signings, sticker give aways, and photos with Gabrielle!
Join us for YWCA Lancaster’s Black Art Across Lancaster, a vibrant celebration of Black creativity, culture, and community.
This visual arts experience highlights powerful exhibitions and thoughtful conversations, uplifting the voices and work of local Black artists and leaders. We’re proud to feature the incredible work of this year’s participants:
Adam Serrano | Mentor
Blake Showers | Mentor
Gabrielle Phillips | Mentee
Robert Potter | Mentee
March 21 | Featured Artist: Gabrielle Phillips
March 22 | Featured Artist: Robert Potter
2:00 – 7:00 PM
Mayhem’s Bookstore & Cafe | 102 W King St, Lancaster, PA 17602
Celebrate the vibrant contributions of Lancaster’s Black artistic community.
Register at: ywcalancaster.org/events/baal-visualarts
Incursion Mini Con March 21st-22nd 2pm-7pm FREE ENTRY @mayhemscafe - Cosplay recommended!
Brought to you by the BAAL program (Black Artists Across Lancaster) and @ywcalancaster
Our featured artist for March 21st is @gabrielle_phillips_designs_
My name is Gabrielle Phillips, and my journey as an artist is inseparable from my journey as a person. I was born with cerebral palsy on my right side, and I use a wheelchair — experiences that have shaped not only how I move through the world, but also how I see it. Where others might see limitation, I have always found motivation to adapt, to create, and to express myself through art.
From an early age, I discovered that art gave me a voice beyond words. It became the place where I could explore freely, translate my perspective, and share beauty in ways that felt uniquely my own. Over time, I gravitated toward realism because it allows me to honor detail — the subtle play of light, the texture of skin, the quiet emotion in an expression.
Hang out for poster signings, sticker give aways, and photos with Gabrielle!
Incursion Mini Con March 21st-22nd 2pm-7pm FREE ENTRY @mayhemscafe - Cosplay recommended!
Brought to you by the BAAL program (Black Artists Across Lancaster) and @ywcalancaster
Our featured artist for March 22nd is @opus.reads.illustrated
My name is Robert “Ro” Potter. I’m a Lancaster based illustrator/painter, and creator of the web comic “Pigeon-Man and The Avian Knights!”
I am inspired from the vast world of comics and manga, as I’ve spent my life reading and collecting them. From a young age, I was taught to embrace my inner-geekiness and push it to the limits. This has led me to tackle such themes in my work such as identity and societal critiques wrapped in swashbuckling tales featuring characters that I’ve grown to evolve with.
With full confidence, I create a world of my own!
Hang out for poster signings, sticker give aways, and photos with Ro!
