“The exhibit is in conjunction with the 21st City of Women International Arts Festival hosted annually in Ljubljana, and serves as a pleasant —and important— reminder that comics are of interest to female artists, too. That small, fertile and growing scene is the one Komikaze hopes to foster and encourage. Spend some time with their sizable online archive and you’ll see how far they’ve already come.”
“Phantasmagoric collages. Those are but a few of the playfully smart themes that are considered in Femicomix, an exhibit of works by the (largely) Balkan-based artists collective Komikaze, currently on display at the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.”
LINK: http://www.cityofwomen.org/sl/content/umetnica/komikaze
Works by 17 artists from ten countries are included in the exhibit under the Komikaze umbrella, a loosely-knit organization whose mission is to spotlight and support women artists in the contemporary comics scene.
Since its formation in 2002, Komikaze has grown into a network of 240 artists from 45 countries, has released 37 online editions, more than a dozen print issues, organized nearly 200 exhibits and conducted more than 40 workshops. A video of Beđomatik, their most recent, here in Ljubljana, is here.
REVIEW AND PHOTOREPORT: https://www.pirancafe.com/2015/10/06/the-komikaze-comic-collective-lands-in-ljubljana-with-femicomix-a-12-photo-introduction/
KOMIKAZE REPORT: https://komikaze.hr/29-9-2015-femicomix-ljubljana/
REVIEW BY ADA ČERNOŠA: https://komikaze.hr/femicomix-ada-cernosa/
FEMICOMIX/ LJUBLJANA 2015
KOMIKAZE Exhibition and catalogue of comics of Komikaze authors
Femicomix project includes 17 female comics artists and is an attempt to underline the strength and potential of female original expression in the field of contemporary comics with a focus on presenting a smaller selection of authors. A selection was made of 17 female comic artists from the Komikaze edited issues (print and web).
FEMALE COMICS do not exist in the aesthetic sense. Komikaze are dedicated to the affirmation of independent original comics and the artist original vision. The public perception is that women are not interested in comics. However, there are more and more women creating comics. We consider it important to recognize, define and affirm this scene which is secretive by its nature. One of the missions of the Komikaze programme is an affirmation of female comic artists. Some of them were first published in Komikaze and the network itself was on several occasions recognized as “female” because of its female protagonists. Komikaze editions, which will soon mark its 15th anniversary, have featured more than 60 female artists.
ORIGINAL COMICS balances between comics, street art, action, abstraction and experiment. Its roots derive from animated and experimental film, contemporary literature, music alternatives, graphics and DIY culture. This border position has a goal to develop comics language and to question its limitations. Comics today are a medium which is sovereign when talking about all human dimensions. It asks questions and is searching for new answers. Original comics are comics in which each artist finds an answer to the question what comics are. (Ivana Armanini)
THE FUTURE OF COMICS IS IN THE HANDS OF THE FEMALE AUTHORS!
The exhibition will be open until October 19th.
Curated by: Ivana Armanini
Organisation: Komikaze, Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture, City of Women.
Free entrance.