ASHANTI FORTSON
The New Food Economy is a zine-comic project based in the “manifestation fantasy” of what new Black-led and Black-owned food systems could look like in Buffalo, New York, in the year 203X. It is currently in-progress and will debut in 2025.
About the Artist
Ashanti Fortson is an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, textile artist, editor, and educator with a deep interest in difficult emotions, quiet moments, and the rifts and connections between human beings. Their work explores transience and reflection through a tenderhearted lens, and their love for color is a thread that runs through everything they make. A good comic essay will always brighten their day. Ashanti lives in Baltimore with their spouse, their cat Miss Cheese, and at least three pet rats at all times. They’re the spider-saving sort.
Ashanti’s short comic Leaf Lace won the 2021 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic, and was nominated in the categories of Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Online Comic. Ashanti also won a Prism Award as part of the Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy anthology. Their work has been featured in Mañana: Latinx Comics From the 25th Century (Power & Magic Press), Wonderful Women of History (DC Comics), Bitch Magazine, NPR, and many other publications. Ashanti can usually be found working on a variety of projects–– including their solo graphic novel, Cress & Petra (HarperCollins, 2025).
Website | IG: @ashantiforston
About the Partner Organization
Food for the Spirit is an organization in New York State whose mission is to use the arts and creative facilitation to support racial healing, ecological justice, and equitable food systems. They encourage dialogue around racism in the food system; facilitating the creation of place-based networks, coalitions, and collaborative projects; and supporting storytelling to shift public narrative and understanding.
Website | FB: Food4theSpirit
Artist’s Statement
The New Food Economy is a zine-comic project based in the “manifestation fantasy” of what new Black-led and Black-owned food systems could look like in Buffalo, New York, in the year 203X. The “fantasy” of the food system facets depicted in the zine’s vignettes is not that they are magical or impossible–– but rather, that they do not exist yet. Made in collaboration with Nnenna Ferguson at Food for The Spirit, this zine is meant to serve as a starting point for what Buffalo residents can imagine in their communities and begin or continue to work towards. The New Food Economy is currently in-progress and will debut in 2025.