BRUSSELS, Belgium – In addition to the broad program that Quebec has lined up as the guest of honour at this 2016 edition of the Comic Strip Festival, there will be fifteen other countries presenting their take on the ninth art. Authors, autographs and exhibitions from all over the world will complete the program for the first week of September, from 2 to 4 September at Parc de Bruxelles.
Quebec
After Taiwan and Turkey, it is now Quebec’s turn to send over its comic authors to sign autographs, give talks, put on exhibitions, deliver conferences and produce animations from all of the genres at the Comic Strip Festival. Here is a sneak peak at some of the things you won’t want to miss out on:
The exhibition “25 Key Moments in Quebec’s Comic History” will introduce viewers to Quebec’s rich history in the 9th art, all the way from the first publication to the success of today. The “drawing meetings” will give festival-goers the chance to meet the authors and see a drawing done live! For more personal meetings, a series of interviews will be the opportunity for the most curious visitors to meet the authors and learn about their careers.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the documentary series “BD QC” (Quebec Comics) will take visitors on a journey to the heart of comic book drawing to reveal the unfamiliar faces behind some well-known drawings. The episodes from seasons one and two will be showing exclusively in the tents at the Comic Strip Festival.
Kids get to learn about Quebec’s comic books too, thanks to a number of animations for youngsters about drawing.
The International Pavilion
China will be revealing its rich contribution to comics with an exhibition showing original drawings and the chance to see popular Chinese authors drawing live, including the young avant-garde artist Zao Dao. The little ones will get to discover animated cartoons and learn how to create their own comic character under the watchful eye of the artists themselves. Hong Kong Arts Centre will be presenting two exhibitions on their projects with the aim of making their local culture better known.
Meanwhile, Italy will practically be putting on a festival of its own in the tents! The famous Luccas Comics & Games will be presenting their great exhibition on Italian comic books, together with a live performance in which two artists will compete in front of the audience at the Comic Book Festival, with the guest artists expected to be Mirka Andolfo (Contro Natura, Bombshells) and Riccardo Pieruccini (Prussiens vs Aliens). Also representing Italy will be the unique book store Piolalibri, located in Brussels, who will be offering wine tasting, music, literature and cuisine.
South Korea is inviting Kim Keum Suk, a powerfully emerging artist, to give a live graphic performance and dedicate her work. There will also be an exhibition to highlight the value of South Korea’s comic work.
The Lab619 Collective, an independent and self-managed experimental comic group, will be the ambassadors for Tunisia at the Festival. They will be here to present their local comic books, organise beginner’s workshops and to reveal the latest edition of their magazine for adults.
Havana will present an exhibition which aims to set up a meeting point between Algerian, Brussels and Cuban comics.
The Czech Republic will be bringing three of its publishing houses this year (Meander, Baobab and Lidu), in addition to a series of authors hosting workshops, signing comics and giving talks.
EUNIC, the National Cultural Institutes of the European Union working to stimulate their countriesโ culture outside the European Union, are joining Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey to promote the comic books and strips of Europe. On the programme: exhibition, workshops, improvisation, on-the-spot drawing sessions and more than 20 artists present to take visitors into their universe. Throughout the weekend, EUNIC will conduct more than a dozen workshops, free of charge, to launch the comic strip creation process and discover the drawing techniques of foreign artists.
Last but not least, we must not forget that this year the famous Brussels book store Sterling Books specialising in literature in English will be here to present comics by unmissable artists of the likes of Alan Moore, Joe Sacco, Posy Simmons and Daniel Clowes
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- Games will be presenting their great exhibition on Italian comic books, together with a live performance in which two artists will compete in front of the audience at the Comic Book Festival, with the guest artists expected to be Mirka Andolfo (Contro Natura, Bombshells) and Riccardo Pieruccini (Prussiens vs Aliens).
- In addition to the broad program that Quebec has lined up as the guest of honour at this 2016 edition of the Comic Strip Festival, there will be fifteen other countries presenting their take on the ninth art.
- After Taiwan and Turkey, it is now Quebec’s turn to send over its comic authors to sign autographs, give talks, put on exhibitions, deliver conferences and produce animations from all of the genres at the Comic Strip Festival.
