[event:comix] GRRR! COMICS FESTIVAL IN PANCEVO - OCTOBER 17-19
The second convention of GRRR!, festival of independent comics, will be held on several locations in Pancevo – the Gallery of Contemporary Art (Galerija savremene umetnosti), Little Gallery (Mala galerija), ART Club and Backyard Gallery (Galerija dvoriste), with the additional program placed in other unusual and strange places. Among this year's guests are some of the more important authors from the international scene, along with representatives of alternative publishers, magazines and associations. The visitors will have a chance to find out about the Austrian mini-comics scene, or big print run comics editions such as "9", which is published as an weekly addition to the national Greek paper,
Elefterotipia. Among the guests is Davide Toffolo, who is not only among the most active cartoonists of the newer generation in Italy, but also known as an author of animated rock video clips and leader of a rock band himself. Or you can find out about a magazine from Croatia, named
Komikaze, which exists basically as a virtual product (web site, CD-ROM). The program of the festival is meant to capture the wide and colorful scope of independent comics production.
Zdravko Zupan is the author of the Backyard Gallery exhibition, titled "Comics in Serbia during the Second World War", a selection of original works produced during WW2, and published both in Nazi German-collaborationist papers and the Communist partisan press. This is the first exhibition to be specifically oriented towards the basically forgotten comics production during this turbulent period in Serbia. Some will find it surprising that this production shows such a wide variety – from propaganda pamphlets, to benign humor comics (while some of the cartoonist's lives were jeopardized by the Occupation forces, and the destiny of others was to be shot by the new government in 1944 !).
Two exhibitions will be presented in Little Gallery. The first one is dedicated to comics-related trading cards (this "medium" is at least partially known to the regular buyers of chewing gum products in Serbia, but it's good to know that this is a phenomena with much deeper roots – even the first modern comic strip, "The Yellow Kid", was licensed as a trading card product). The second exhibition is a Milt Gross Tribute. This classic American cartoonist died exactly 50 years ago, so it's probably just this exhibition that is going to mark this. On display will be original editions of Gross books and comic strips, reprints and even a few original drawings - all made by the author who was probably the main representative of madcap humor during the first half of the 20th century. Curators are Enrico Sist and Sasa Rakezic.
In order to provide more events in unexpected places, GRRR!Additional programs will present an exhibition in a Shoe shop "Peko", placed in one of the town's trade centers. The exhibition called "Shoe 2" is dedicated to shoes of course. Also, as part of GRRR!excursion, participants of the festival will visit "Alternative Cultural Club" in a near-by village of Banatsko Novo Selo, where the local comics production will be introduced by the enthusiast from this club that is trying to bring some urban spirit to rural parts. An NGO from Pancevo, called GreatLittle, will present an exhibition dedicated to persons with handicap, and a special edition of
The Kitchen comics magazine, is going to be published for this occasion.
Also, GRRR! will introduce few concerts this year as well: along with DAME DARCY & CABIN FEVER, there are going to be performances by an experimental band from Pancevo – Klopka za pionira, as well as a band from Zagreb, Invisible Ghost Luigi, with cartoonist Dunja Jankovic behind the drums.
Festival guests:
Dame Darcy (Los Angeles) - known for her
Meat Cake comics series, published by leading alternative comics publisher Fantagraphics Books. She is going to screen her short films and perform a concert of 19th century sailor's songs! Just be there!
Lee Kennedy - cartoonist from London, who is probably the most important representative of autobiographical comics to appear on a British scene. Her presence at the festival was made possible through the collaboration of the friendly CAPTION Convention from Oxford, and helped by Charles Alverson.
Davide Toffolo (Pordenone, Italy) - is regularly publishing his comics in big time anthologies and magazines, but is also an author of very profound graphic novels that speak about the life of famous boxer Primo Carnera, and even more famous movie director Pasolini. Toffolo is an illustrator, journalist, lecturer, animator and rock musician.
Enrico Sist,
Paola Bristot - editors of the publishing house/association named VivaComix from Pordenone. VivaComix have organized several major comics exhibitions, including one dedicated to German language comics production, but also they do some book publishing (Enrico Sist has written a book on everybody’s favorite “crazy” cartoonist, Basil Wolverton!).
Alessandro Baronciani (Milan) - presenting a rich and colorful independent/small press scene from Italy. His self-published stuff Baronciani is distributing to the "army of 300 subscribers!
Igor Prassel,
Ivan Mitrevski (Ljubljana, Slovenia) - editors of comic magazine
Stripburger, which was rewarded in Angouleme as one of the best fanzines in the entire world! This time they will present a selection of works from their
Warburger anthology, consisting of international comics commenting the topic of war.
Edda Strobl,
Helmut Kaplan,
Thomas Wolkinger (Graz) - representatives of Tonto Comics, and organizers of first ever Austrian comics festival. Tonto started as an independent music label, while today they are also recognized as animators of a local comics scene, publishing mini-comics series and organizing gatherings of comic authors and fans.
Ivana Armanini (Zagreb) - comic author and editor of
Komikaze.
Komikaze is a flexible web zine project, which is bound both to provide more space for the local underground cartoonists, and to spread the works by guest authors from all over the world.
Dunja Jankovic (Zagreb) - aside for publishing her comics in
Komikaze, she is also a drummer in a band called Invisible Ghost Luigi.
Aleksandar Zograf,
Wostok,
Sasa Mihajlovic,
Maja Veselinovic,
Vuk Palibrk,
Kosmoplovci,
Letac,
Vladan Nikolic,
Kuhinja,
Bureq des Merdes,
Looney,
Ivana Veresky, and many other cartoonist coming from the Serbia and Montenegro scene, will present their new works and publications. In this country, comics are showing a vitality that resembles the cockroaches – keep moving despite all imaginable conditions! It was through collaborations with international authors and publishers, that Serbia / Montenegro comics authors have brought a lot of fresh ideas to the local independent scene.
GRRR!PROGRAM
Friday October 17th 2003.
19h - Opening of the GRRR! exhibitions:
Gallery of Contemporary Art
• DAME DARCY ( US.)
• DAVIDE TOFFOLO (Italy)
• LEE KENNEDY (UK)
• STRIPBURGER (Slovenia)
• VIVACOMIX (Italy)
• TONTO COMICS (Austria)
• KOMIKAZE (Croatia)
• 9 - ELEFTEROTIPIA (Greece)
• NEW COMICS: SERBIA
• NEW COMICS: ITALY
• NEW COMICS: GREAT BRITAIN
Little Gallery
• COMICS AND TRADING CARDS (curated by Enrico Sist)
• MILT GROSS (curated by Enrico Sist and Sasa Rakezic)
Backyard Gallery
• COMICS IN SERBIA DURING THE WORLD WAR TWO (curated by Zdravko Zupan)
ART Club
20h
• Projection of animated rock video clips, presenting Davide Toffolo
• Projection of short films, presenting: Dame Darcy
21h
• Concert: Dame Darcy & Cabin Fever
Saturday October 18th, 2003.
18h - GRRR!Additional program:
• VelikiMali, Zivojina Misica (ex Narodnog Fronta) 6
• A SPECIAL FRIEND - presentation of a special edition of a
Kitchen magazine / exhibition / plus: A SPECIAL CONCERT
19h -
ART Club
• POSSIBILITIES OF A CONTEMPORARY COMICS MEDIA - panel with festival's participants, comics workshop
20h -
ART Club
• PROJECTION: Comic authors as creators of FLASH format animations (Gary Panter, Jim Woodring, Mark Newgarden, etc.)
( thanks to Chris Lanier)
21h -
ART Club
• Concert: KLOPKA ZA PIONIRA (Panèevo)
• INVISIBLE GHOST LUIGI ( Zagreb)
Sunday October 19th, 2003.
13h - Additional program: GRRR! Excursion
• ALTERNATIVE CULTURAL CLUB, BANATSKO NOVO SELO (Exhibition of comics by the authors from Banatsko Novo Selo, presentation of a CD by NUP, projection of NUP video clips)
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