Hong Kong Artists Hit European Comics Festival The 38th Angoulême International Comics Festival‧27-30/1/2011
Press are cordially invited to attend the Opening Ceremony (vernissage) of the exhibition, Friday, January 28th, 5pm
The Hong Kong Arts Centre will be participating in the 4-day Angoulême International Comics Festival, in the cultural city of Angoulême in southwest France, from January 27-30, 2011.
Angoulême is the centre of French comics and its annual comics festival is the largest such festival in Europe. 2011 marks the 38th year of this festival which has attracted the attention of comic artists, publishers and distributors as well as comic fans throughout the years. The Angoulême International Comics Festival is a highly prestigious event and of major influence in the industry.
Invited by the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Kaleidoscope – History of Hong Kong Comics Exhibition is Hong Kong’s contribution to the festival. Produced by the Hong Kong Arts Centre, sponsored by the Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) and supported by the Home Affairs Bureau, the exhibition features outstanding comic artists from the 1960s to the modern day, from both the mainstream and off the beaten track. The festival will allow the world to get a better glimpse of Hong Kong’s creative industry, and highlights our role as Asia’s creative city, so that we can expand the overseas market for local comics.
Participants will include Connie Lam, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Alan Wan and Thomas Tang, Directors of the Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation, as well as comic artists including Craig Au Yeung, Lee Wai-chun, Lee Chi-ching, Jeffrey Lau Wan-kit, Li Chi-tak, Ted Yeung Hok-tak, Chihoi Lee, Stella So, Laitattatwing, Kongkee, Rainbow Leung, Ahko and Kai. French versions of Laitattatwing’s Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Ahko’s Tonight I Kill My Dog will be included. Hijacking, the latest collaboration between Kongkee and Chihoi, is also being translated into French.
Jerry Liu, Head of CreateHK said, “This exhibition means a lot to the local comics industry. Apart from introducing Hong Kong comics to foreign readers, it helps our comics artists connect with overseas markets. As the sponsor, CreateHK encourages local comic artists to make the best use of the occasion to broaden their horizons and present more outstanding works to the world.”
The festival also includes a series of exchange activities, for example, open seminars, drawing performances/demonstrations, artists’ featuring session, a unique sales booth and the publishing of an English monograph to promote local creative works to visitors. Six interactive multimedia showcases, displaying the story of Hong Kong comics from the 1960s to the 2000s, will be shown in Ateliers Magelis, a historical architectural building in Angoulême. “We chose works that bear significant importance on the whole of society, so visitors can see how life has changed in Hong Kong through comic books,” said Connie Lam. “I believe the exhibition will help deepen the impression of Hong Kong comics to fans worldwide. Other than exchanging our experience with the industry and broadening our horizon with this trip, we hope to highlight the unique cultural and artistic values of the works of local comic artists, to combine arts and commercial elements and to push forward the development of this creative industry,” Lam added.
Exhibition details: Date & Time: 27-30 January, 2011, 10am-7pm (4 days) Venue:Ateliers Magelis, Angoulême, France (historical architecture) Producers: Hong Kong Arts Centre / Angoulême International Comics Festival Sponsor: Create Hong Kong In Association with: Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation Acknowledgement: Home Affairs Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Sponsor: Create Hong Kong Create Hong Kong is a dedicated agency set up under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau on 1 June 2009 to lead, champion and drive the development of the creative economy in Hong Kong. It co-ordinates Government policy and effort regarding creative industries, focuses the Government’s resources on catering for the promotion and speeding up of the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, and works closely with trade to boost the development of creative industries.
Presenter: Hong Kong Arts Centre Established in 1977, the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) is a self-funding organisation whose mission is to promote contemporary arts and culture within Hong Kong and beyond. The Hong Kong Arts Centre is committed to nurturing creativity, arts and cultural engagement through its two-pronged approach; promoting contemporary performing arts, visual arts, film and video arts and providing lifelong and wide-reaching arts education. The Centre provides a wide range of programmes featuring local and overseas artists, with facilities including theatres, a cinema, galleries, classrooms, studios, a café and office space. The Centre presents over 1000 shows and 40 exhibitions every year featuring local and overseas artists, and attracts over 170,000 audiences annually. As a self-funding arts organisation, the Centre sustains itself by donation, rent, course fees and ticket sales.
In Collaboration with: Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation The Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation was established in 1999. The Federation aims to unite the comic and animation industries, to promote comic and animation culture, to enhance the general public’s knowledge of comics, to nourish potential talent for the industry, and as a bridge to communicate and exchange comic and animation ideas and culture with other organisations or artists all over the world.
Media Enquiries: Hong Kong Arts Centre Annie Ho (Marketing & Development Director) Tel: 852-2584 5306 / 852-9481 8706 Email: aho@hkac.org
