Lisa Hanawalt is an artist and writer, best known for her work in animation. She’s the production designer and producer of BoJack Horseman, the acclaimed animated series on Netflix. She’s the creator and executive producer of Tuca & Bertie, a vibrant and surreal animated show on Netflix and Adult Swim. And most recently, she’s the producer and production designer of Long Story Short, an adult animated comedy about family, spanning many decades.
A graduate of UCLA, Hanawalt grew up in Palo Alto, California, and works across comics, animation, and illustration. Her projects range from TV shows and books to apparel, murals, music videos, and gallery exhibitions, each marked by her playful humor, emotional honesty, and keen observation of the natural and human worlds. Her books with Drawn & Quarterly include My Dirty Dumb Eyes, Hot Dog Taste Test, and Coyote Doggirl, which showcase her distinctive blend of wit, surrealism, and deeply personal storytelling.
Lisa’s art and writing have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg Businessweek, Lucky Peach, Vice, Glamour, and McSweeney’s. She lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Artists First and UTA.
Presented in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library.
This project was made possible by a grant from the Arts Initiative at the University of Michigan.
Series presenting partners: Detroit PBS, ALL ARTS, and PBS Books. Media partner: Michigan Public.