Cultural Foundation of Pará receives the National Comic Week
The program runs until next Saturday, the 26th, at the Curro Velho Workshop Center. The activities are free.
The first day of the National Comic Week promoted by the Cultural Foundation of Pará brought together many people throughout the day at the Arthur Vianna Public Library (BPAV), with programming starting at 10 AM. The audience enjoyed workshops, masterclasses, comic book launches, discussions, and even a signing session with artists from all over Brazil.
The program began at 10 AM with the workshop "How to Plan Comics for Cultural Projects" led by illustrator and comic artist Francy Botelho, who had a work published at CCXP in 2022, focusing on submitting comic stories to cultural funding calls.
"It is very important for us to occupy this space in cultural calls because they are a form of funding. It is financing intended for this, and comics are a diffuser of our culture, so today we learned how to develop a project in general, and how to adapt it to different calls, both in terms of schedule and budget, learning to create a project with justification, objectives, and goals," emphasizes Francy Botelho.
Alex Lucka is a comic book producer and is part of an independent collective called BRT. He shares that he participated in the workshop to gain more knowledge to submit his comics to future cultural funding calls.
"I find it very interesting because in my collective, we kind of finance everything ourselves. So it is very costly to do all the work, having to take money out of our own pockets to finance the project. And sometimes, due to economic limitations, the work does not reach the desired quality. Producing a comic also takes a lot of time, so sometimes we have to sacrifice family time, work time; it is interesting that there is this return in a meaningful way for the work we do with comics," comments Alex Lucka.
Continuing with the activities, at 3:30 PM, the masterclass "The Art of Telling Your Story" was held, taught by UFPA professor and doctor in arts Ricardo Ono, whose doctoral thesis on comics won the Benedito Nunes award in 2022. The masterclass focused on creative writing when telling stories and the different types of perspectives and semiotics that artists should explore when producing their work.
In the afternoon, people could also participate in a signing session that took place in the comic library of the Foundation, located on the third floor of the Arthur Vianna Public Library (BPAV). The session featured national and regional authors such as: Gidalti Moura (Castanha do Pará), Francy Botelho (Eternos), Mandy Modesto (A viagem de Maíra), Ilustra Lu (Arlindo), and Karipola (Quase Tudo São Flores).
At 5:00 PM, the launch of the "Catalog of Amazonian Comics" produced by the HQ Club took place in the Aloysio Chaves Auditorium. The book gathers works that are part of the collection of the Arthur Vianna Public Library, referring to the Amazonian comics section.
The catalog took about six months to produce and details all the Amazonian works present in the BPAV.
To conclude the night on a high note, at 6 PM, event participants attended a panel on "Urban Narratives" moderated by writer, comic artist, and illustrator Leonardo Dressant, who launched his new comic (A Batalha Das Sombras) during the national comic week. The panel also featured authors Ilustra Lu, Gidalti Moura, Mandy Modesto, and Karipola.
"We will discuss what inspired the creation of the comics, mainly talking about what can be highlighted in the universe of urban comics and everyday life, and the role that comics play in raising awareness, how they become a tool for societal awareness," highlights Leonardo Bressant about the panel.
For Aline Souza, a student and researcher on comics at PPGCom at UFPA, the event was an opportunity to deepen her research work and discover the amplitudes and complexities of comics, as well as being a chance to connect with comic artists, authors, and consumers of this art.
"On this first day of the circuit, we were able to learn about publication possibilities through funding calls, now in the afternoon, comic launches, and the many ways to use comics for research, reading, and creation. We saw a little of what is being produced in Belém and in the Amazon, so today was just a sample of the possibilities that the event offers; it has been very beautiful, and I intend to participate daily," concludes Aline Sousa.
The programming of the National Comic Week continues until next Saturday, April 26. The event on the 25th and 26th will take place at the Curro Velho Workshop Center, located at R. Prof. Nelson Ribeiro, 287 (Telégrafo), and will feature the following activities: Artists' Alley, Exhibition of Amazonian comics, Geek Fair, Workshops and lectures, as well as panels and comic-making workshops.
Service:
National Comic Week.
Period: April 25 and 26, from 10 AM to 7 PM
Location: Curro Velho Workshop Center, R. Prof. Nelson Ribeiro, 287 (Telégrafo)
Activities: Workshops, comic fair, debates, and launches with national artists
Free entry
Text: Maurício Carvalho / Ascom FCP
