A week of illustration and celebration is coming up, with events and workshop that will appeal to all the overachievers out there. Each year, the days leading up to the launch party for American Illustration and American Photography brings people from near and far to town - and various arts organizations respond with fun and inspiring things to do. Here goes:

Left to right: Moving Pictures poster (detail) by Richard McGuire; AI-AP Party invitation; Spur Design posters by David Plunkert. Copyright and courtesy the artists.

Monday November 9: Society of Illustrators, 6:30-8:30 pm
Split Personality Illustrator Syndrome lecture with Josh Gosfield and Eddie Guy
If you've ever felt like changing your style 180 degrees and starting over, or if you feel like you could be ten different artists in one single person, this lecture is perfect for you. Gosfield and Guy will discuss why, when and how they decided to radically change both their names and styles, or keep two different names, as well as the pros and cons of taking such a big risk in their careers and how art directors usually react to it. Produced and moderated by Fernanda Cohen.
RSVP required or call 212 838 2560. $15 non-members $10 members $7 students Limited to 120 people. Print/book signing by both artists to follow.
Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY.
Editor's note: Don't miss Josh Gosfield's exhibition, Gigi Gaston: The Black Flower, at Steven Kasher Gallery 521 West 23^rd Street, New York, NY.

Tuesday November 10: Society of Illustrators, 6:30-8:30 pm
Collage Workshop with Hanoch Piven
Hanoch Piven, multiple award-winning illustrator, will lead a hands-on, collage workshop for professional illustrators who want to free their inner child. Piven's workshop will focus on the idea of playing intuitively with objects, maximizing trial-and-error and taking advantage of serendipity, which are all very useful tools to explore any creative medium. Piven is known for using ordinary objects to create striking celebrity portraits for such clients as Time, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times and Random House. The workshop is produced by Fernanda Cohen. Although we'll provide some junk for you to play with, attendees must bring their own ordinary objects to be able twork in-class.
RSVP required or call 212 838 2560. $35 non-members $20 members Limited to 50 people.
Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY.

Tuesday November 10: Gallery 7, The New York Times, 7:00-9:00 pm -
Unfinished Business: David Plunkert & the Posters of Spur
Graphic Designer, illustrator and Spur Design co-founder David Plunkert has produced dozens of award winning posters for film, theatre, and various institutions over the years. Over 70 selected posters spanning a 15 year period will be featured at Gallery 7 at the New York Times. While the majority of the posters on display were illustrated by Plunkert, other notable illustrators have collaborated with the Baltimore-based artist over the years including: Gary Baseman, Noah Woods, Jayme Odgers, Dan Yaccarino, Charles Burns, and Jonathon Rosen. RSVP required.
Gallery 7, The New York Times, 620 8th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY.

Wednesday November 11: Parsons The New School for Design, 7:00-10:00 pm
Moving Pictures: A symposium on illustration and motion presented by the Illustration Program
Lauren Redniss, New School illustration faculty member and author of Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies will talk about secret lives and invisibility. Jody Rosen, music critic for Slate, will give a glimpse inside "The Knowledge," the exhaustive, mind-bending geographical training required of London taxi drivers. Joel Smith, curator of photography at the Princeton University Art Museum, will consider the imaginative cartography of legendary cartoonist Saul Steinberg, best known for his work in The New Yorker. Richard McGuire, author of the upcoming illustration book Here and current fellow at the New York Public Library's Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, will screen his recent film Fears of the Dark, and present work in progress on a new book. Free and open to the public. Click for more information.
The New School Jazz Performance Space, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 5th floor, New York, NY.

Thursday November 12: Fire>>>Ice, The AI-AP Party
You, your colleagues, friends and family are invited to celebrate the publication of American Illustration 28 + American Photography 25
$50 per person, $25 for students; FREE for AP25 and AI28 Selected winners. Cover charge includes light buffet and open bar. RSVP required.
Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk Street, New York, NY.

Friday the Thirteenth (of November): Opening reception for Parsons Illustration Department exhibition, 6:00-8:00 pm
Six by Six Gallery, 531 East 13^th Street between Avenue A and B, New York, NY.