Secondo appuntamento con le news dell’edizione 2022 del Festival dei laghi, che quest’anno si terrà a Bowness-on-Windermere, che è a soli 20 minuti viaggio in treno dalla stazione principale di Oxenholme Lake District.
Oggi John Freeman e lo staff del LICAF ci informano che i migliori fumettisti europei sono a Kendal, dall’8 al 17 marzo per il nuovo progetto di fumetti “Floods”.
Anche quest’anno “Fumettomania Factory – APS” è supporter del Lakes International Comic Art Festival.
Mario Benenati, curatore di Fumettomania Web Magazine
Nota bene: Aggiungo solo una cosa , rispetto, a quanto troverete nel sito del LICAF: la location dove si terrà il festival, “è un posto meraviglioso, andateci sia per il festival, sia per visitare i laghi e la Regione, non ve ne pentirete!”
Top European comic artists head to Kendal for new “Floods” comics project, more guests announced
Thursday 24th February 2022:
We’re delighted to announce that two top European comic artists, Eva Hilhorst and Judith Vanistendael, will be in the Lake District next month, heading up an innovative Lakes International Comic Art Festival project to find out more about Kendal residents concerns about flooding and climate change.
Between 8th – 17th March, Eva and Judith will be taking part in several workshops, in various locations around Kendal, including Kendal College and Space 2 Create, combining drawing comics with seeking the thoughts and memories of local people of flooding in Cumbria and how it’s impacted their lives.
As many of you will know, back in December 2015, Kendal experienced the largest flood event ever recorded in the town, the result of the effects of Storm Desmond. Homes were flooded and businesses wrecked.
The Environment Agency is now working on delivering a Flood Risk Management Scheme to better protect homes and business from flooding in the Kent catchment, and improve the local environment and community amenities. Kendal is the first area to be delivered, followed by Burneside, Staveley, and Ings, and upstream measures including flood storage.
The Festival’s new “What Is, What If, Floods Comic Project” is one of several year-round initiatives for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, outside of its annual festival in Bowness in October this year, which also include a major study of how comics encourage reading, in partnership with Comic Art Europe and Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester.
Supported by Arts Council England, the Festival is working with several local, national and international organisations including the British Council and Cambridge University, to promote comics as a medium for all and to deliver positive social change, including climate change and supporting the careers of emerging comic creatives; its ongoing work praised by comic fans and creators alike.
“In the summer of 2021 Belgium, Germany and Holland were flooded due to climate change,” notes Floods Project co-ordinator, Richard Foster. “200 people died, and climate change suddenly became something lethal in our backyard. The artists are exploring how our experiences match or are different to those across Europe.”
Eva Hilhorst and Judith Vanistendael will lead master classes and workshops in Kendal through the two weeks beginning 8th March, leading to the creation of a “reportage comic”, a comic strip “documentary”, that will highlight concerns about flooding and the impact of climate change in Cumbria, and beyond.
Alongside comic workshops at Kendal College, the events will include a fun “It’s like being at the hairdressers” event, inviting people to have their portrait drawn in exchange for a story.
“To make our reportage personal and appealing to our readers, we would like to incorporate the local people’s experiences, both by drawing their stories, and have them draw their stories themselves in different workshops,” Eva and Judith explain.
“We would love to hear from them just how they experienced the floods in 2015 and want to hear how they see the future in connection to climate change. What do they fear, what are their hopes and dreams?
“While we draw their portrait, we have a conversation with them, and people who take part can keep their portrait as a thank you.”
Dutch comic creator Eva Hilhorst is the initiator of Drawing the Times, a fantastic platform for graphic journalism, and has been working as a graphic journalist for several years. Her work was published in the Dutch newspaper Trouw and on the online platforms De Correspondent and Symbolia. She’s currently editor in chief of Drawing the Times, a teacher at the Art Academy Utrecht – and a specialist and keynote speaker in the field of graphic journalism.
Her participation in this project is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Judith Vanistendael, from Belgium, creates comics “that have to do with life as it really is’ she says. Vanistendael studied at the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin, earned an academic degree in art sciences from the University of Ghent, did postgraduate studies on Latin America, and followed the comics master at the Sint Lukas art school in Brussels.
Her semi-autobiographical work, Dance by the Light of the Moon, has been translated into nine languages and nominated twice for the prestigious Angouleme Grand Prize, and her second graphic novel, When David Lost his Voice, was nominated for an Eisner Award. Also a children’s book illustrator, she’s currently working on her third graphic novel, while also working as a teacher at the Sint Lukas art school in Brussels and She illustrates children books.
During the residency, both artists hope to talk to as many local residents as possible, talk to local experts, and publish a blog and logbook of their discoveries, with daily drawings, interviews and thoughts, all through the thematic lens of the flooding and climate change.
“The overall aim is to use a few days of the residency to go out and draw what we see and experience, we will make a drawn ‘documentary’ of the area where the flooding happened – and might happen again.”
Work created during this residency will form a temporary display at Kendal’s Space 2 Create in Castle Mills at the end of the second week, and will feature in further exhibitions later in 2022.
“We hope exhibition visitors will offer their views, too,” say the artists. “The more opinions and the dreams for the future, related to the flooding and climate change, we learn about, the better.
If you live in the Kendal area and would like to take part in the “It’s Like Being at the Hair-dressers”, or the Graphic Storytelling Workshop, where participants will be invited draw their experiences, hopes and fears and learn how to captivate the reader with a compelling story, fictional or journalistic, then please contact Carole Tait via carole@comicartfestival.com as soon as possible. (Please note that places for the Graphic Storytelling Workshops are very limited).
You can read the full story behind this special Festival project here on our web site.
Lucie Arnoux, Mick McMahon and Jörg Tittel Join Festival Line-Up
We’re also pleased to announce three further guests for this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival, taking place this year for the first time in Bowness-on-Windermere.
Joining creators such as Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets), Bill Morrison (MAD, Yellow Submarine) and Guardian cartoonist Posy Simmonds will be French reportage artist Lucie Arnoux, creator of the graphic novel Je Ne Sais Quoi, to be published by Jonathan Cape later this year; 2000AD artist and concept artist Mick McMahon, who has been working with fellow guest, writer, director and producer, Jörg Tittel, on the The Last Worker, a new VR game.
You can read the full guest announcement on our web site here.
The Festival runs 14th – 16th October this year, moving from Kendal to Bowness-on-Windermere, with a stack of events – talks, workshops, kids stuff and more – again being lined up for the annual event supported by Arts Council England, the Lake District National Park Authority, Windermere Town Council and others.
Guests from the UK, Europe, the United States and beyond are being teased ahead of tickets going on sale next month (March).
We look forward to seeing you!
Best wishes
John Freeman
LICAF 2022 – Announced Plans
The 2022 programme of comic art activity will include:
• A series of pilot projects exploring how comics can improve literacy, health and wellbeing
• An ongoing programme of creating online resources to introduce teachers to comics and showcase how to use them in the classroom
• Using the comics medium to explore mental health and promoting resources to secondary school students in conjunction with Lancaster University
• Forming long-term relationships with Special Schools across the UK, to explore the positive impact of comics in the school environment
• Supporting the UK Comics Laureate to promote the transformational power of comics to educators, librarians and policy makers, as well as the young people directly
• Working with the neurodiverse community and specifically those on the autistic spectrum and undertaking research with the University of Cambridge with a new Autism Comics & Cartooning Project
• Supporting independent creators through the Virtual Comics Clock Tower online marketplace and providing professional development opportunities through a webinars programme, exploring topics such as crowdfunding, pitching to publishers and fundraising
• Providing a range of opportunities for year-round artist residencies and cultural exchanges in the UK and internationally, through programmes such as Comic Art Europe
• Exploring and celebrating how comics intersect with new and emerging art forms including digital art, animation, film, gaming, virtual reality and augmented reality – this will result in new partnerships with international creators at the forefront of new technologies
• Continuing to offer an annual Festival programme in October that features a wide range of British and international guests with the eye on the eclectic, exciting and entertaining, alongside workshops for aspiring creators, children’s events through “Little LICAF” and much more
The Festival is also commissioning new comic work in collaboration with the Lake District National Park Authority to bring comic art experiences to family audiences within an outdoor environment.
The climate crisis, flood risk and sustainability will continue as themes throughout 2022 with new comic artwork being commissioned, alongside the further development of our ‘10 Years to Save the World’ project and website.
The Festival’s international partnerships continue to flourish with projects underway with the Finnish Institute, the Belgian Embassy, Quebec BD Festival, the French Institute, the Czech Literary Centre, the Italian Institute, the Philippines Comic Art Festival, Lyon BD Festival, Beirut Comic Art Festival, the Bilili BD Festival (the Congo) and NCSFest (USA).
The full programme for 2022 along with details of the 10th Lakes International Comic Art Festival will be available in January 2022. This will include our initial guest announcements, and detailed visitor and transport information for Bowness-on-Windermere, which is only a 20 minute rail journey from the mainline Oxenholme Lake District station. The Festival is also working to ensure local Festival weekend transport availability, such as shuttle buses between Kendal and Bowness.
(Versione italiana: Il programma completo per il 2022, insieme ai dettagli del 10° Festival Internazionale del fumetto dei Laghi, è disponibile da gennaio 2022. Ciò include i nostri annunci relativi agli ospiti e le informazioni dettagliate sui visitatori e sui trasporti per Bowness-on-Windermere, che è a soli 20 minuti viaggio in treno dalla stazione principale di Oxenholme Lake District. Il Festival sta anche lavorando per garantire la disponibilità del trasporto locale nel fine settimana del Festival, come i bus navetta tra Kendal e Bowness.)
NOTE EXTRA
Per i redattori e i sostenitori
I seguenti articoli sono informazioni di base sul Lakes International Comic Art Festival che potresti trovare utili per altri articoli per la tua testata giornalistica sulla nostra organizzazione. Li includiamo in ogni comunicato stampa a scopo informativo e per ringraziare i nostri numerosi finanziatori e principali sostenitori.
• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival – dal 14 al 16th October 2022 – è online su: www.comicartfestival.com
Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast: www.comicartpodcast.uk
Twitter: @comicartfestpod
Facebook: @ComicArtPodcast
Instagram: @ComicArtPodcast
Virtual Comics Clock Tower: licafclocktower.com
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Festival Guests in 2022
Announced guests for 2022 so far, in alphabetical order, are:
Lucie Arnoux, Jaime Hernandez, Mick McMahon, Bill Morrison, Rebecca Ollerton, Sean Phillips, Mike Perkins, Greg Rucka, Posy Simmonds, Jorg Tittel, and Twin Cartoons .
Profiles of all LICAF LIVE guests feature here on the official Festival web site
Comics Clock Tower Exhibitors 2021
Exhibitors included: 1826 Comic, Art-Bubble, B7 Media, Big Brown Eyes Collective, Bruno Stahl, Cast Iron Books, Catfood Comics, Cathy Brett, The Cartoonists Club of Great Britain, Centrala, Chris Askham, CoCo Comics, Colleen Douglas, Conundrum Press, Cutaway Comics, E Merlin Murray, the Etherington Brothers, Gold Lion Comics, Gustaffo Vargas, Hocus Pocus, Ian Sharman, Joe Latham, Kate Mia White, Kev F Sutherland, Knockabout, Lancaster University, Lewis Campbell, Madzines, Martin Simpson, Matt Simmons, Matt Smith! (Smith vs Smith), Mereida, Metaphrog, Mister Hope, Moonsquid Ink, Myriad Editions, Nona Gallery, Norm Konyu, Olivia Sullivan, Peter Morey, Pitteville Press, Roger Langridge, Ronny Worsey and Brian Gorman, Schnumn, SelfMadeHero, Soaring Penguin Press, Turnaround and Woodland Creatures.
Applications for comic creators, publishers and others are still open for exhibitors to feature in their Lakeview Comics Marketplace at the 10th Lakes International Comic Art Festival. If you would like to exhibit at this year’s Festival, please complete the application form available on the official LICAF web site and return it to carole@comicartfestival.com to arrive no later than 5.00pm on Friday 25th February 2022
(Le domande per creatori di fumetti, editori e altri sono ancora aperte per gli espositori da presentare nel loro Lakeview Comics Marketplace al 10th Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Se desideri esporre al Festival di quest’anno, compila il modulo di iscrizione disponibile sul sito web ufficiale della LICAF e rispediscilo a carole@comicartfestival.com entro e non oltre le 17:00 di venerdì 25 febbraio 2022)
About Us
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is the only one of its kind in the UK, centred on events and comics projects brought to you from one of the country’s most beautiful areas – the English Lake District, in the market town of Kendal. Modelled on European-style festivals, such as Angoulême in France, the annual Festival usually takes over the whole town for a weekend of comic art every October.
The Festival’s aim is to celebrate the whole spectrum of comic art, inspiring existing comic art fans and creators and, it hopes, generating new audiences and creators too. It invests in creators through a commissioning programme and has an emphasis on developing international collaborations.
The Patrons of the Festival are comic creators Yomi Ayeni, Kate Charlesworth, Comics Laureate Stephen L. Holland, Sean Phillips, Bryan Talbot, Mary Talbot and Zoom Rockman.
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. It is supported by Cumbria County Council, Lake District National Park Authority, South Lakeland District Council and Kendal Town Council
Our main sponsor is Lancaster University and main partners are Kendal College, the Windermere Jetty Museum, the Old Laundry Theatre, NCS, Lakeview Bar and Grill and Baha
We are also supported by The British Council, The Czech Literary Centre, The Finnish Institute in London, Institut Francais, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the National Cartoonists Society, and other international partnerships
We also receive support from publishers David Fickling Comics, publishers of The Phoenix comic, Fanfare Press and Knockabout Press
Thanks also to our generous donors: Charlie Adlard, Lynette Adlard, Graham Dury, Peter Kessler, Bryan Talbot, Sean Phillips and Simon Thorp.