LeftField Media, which owns comic convention Awesome Con, consumer toy show Play Fair, and recently announced a new anime show for New York (see “LeftField Announces New Anime Show for New York”) has made a number of recent moves, which we round up here.

The company has announced a new show focusing on designer toys and comic art in conjunction with Clutter Magazine in New York City, the Five Points Festival.  The show will be held May 20-21 inside Pier 36, on the Lower East Side.  It will be curated by Clutter Magazine, and presented by Midtown Comics.  It will present artists and designers, along with “brands focused on independent art, entertainment, food, and lifestyle.”  Clutter’s Designer Toy Awards will be presented at the event, and in keeping with the designer toy focus, a special Kidrobot Dunny, designed by artist (and show guest) Gary Ham, will only be available at the show, with a unique colorway for VIP attendees.

We sought out more information on Anime NYC, which LeftField will launch in November 2017.  The show had been announced as “presented by” streaming site Crunchyroll, so we asked LeftField to clarify the company’s role, and whether Crunchyroll would have an ownership stake.  LeftField Director of Content and Communities Peter Tatara explained.  “Anime NYC is 100% owned by LeftField Media with Crunchyroll participating as our title sponsor,” Tatara said. “You'll see Crunchyroll very active at the event, but to be clear, Anime NYC isn't a Crunchyroll-only convention. Our goal is to build a community of fans and platform for all publishers in the largest city in America.”

We also asked why, since LeftField CEO Greg Topalian had made the decision to roll New York Anime Festival into New York Comic Con back in 2010, he now believed that the city would support a stand-alone show.  “The world in 2009 was very different than it is today,” Tatara said. “When the NYAF/NYCC decision was made, the largest anime events in the US were drawing 50,000, and the industry itself was clashing with unlicensed online distribution. Today, we're seeing a burgeoning fandom across America, with the largest show in the country pulling 100,000 fans, and an industry that's not only surviving but thriving since embracing licensed streaming. I'll say, too, success for us today as a small company also looks very different than it did in 2009. We have a lot of friends in the anime industry and a genuine desire to build a dedicated event for them and their fans in NYC.”

At the corporate level, LeftField CEO Greg Topalian now has an expanded portfolio within Urban Expositions, which acquired a majority share of LeftField earlier this year (see “Owner of Awesome Con, Play Fair Acquired”).  In addition to the shows LeftField organizes, Topalian will now also be running Urban Expositions’ consumer events, including the new Classic Auto Show in Los Angeles, and the Fina Art Fairs.

With the increased resources from the acquisition and growing ambitions, we’re expecting to see additional shows in the geek culture space from LeftField in the coming year.