Project description: The 8th Sombor International Comic and Fantasy Festival popularized comic strips as the “ninth” art form and fantasy as an artistic genre in Sombor and surrounding areas, particularly among children, youth, and youth from rural areas. The project enriched the cultural offerings of the city and involved the local community in direct interaction with artists, publishers, and collectors. Prior to the festival, an art contest for elementary school children on the theme of ecology was announced, accompanied by an exhibition of drawings by contemporary Macedonian comic artists. The festival opened with an exhibition titled “The Emperor’s Young Man” by Dragana Kuprešanin, marking the first time an experimental comic exhibition was hosted in Sombor in over 30 years. The festival continued with the presentation of the fanzine “New StripSo 025,” showcasing works by young and unestablished Sombor authors, allowing them to present to both the local community and a wider audience. Other activities included a Comic and Fantasy Fair, the “Women in Domestic Comics” panel discussion, fantasy writing workshops, a “Yu-Gi-Oh” tournament, and more. The festival concluded with the announcement of the winners of the ecology-themed art contest, which received over 150 entries. The 8th Sombor International Comic and Fantasy Festival provided the local community with an exceptional artistic and cultural event, often reserved only for larger cities, and increased the visibility of female comic artists in the mainstream comic scene. The excellent turnout (over 3,000 visitors!) demonstrates the growing interest of the local community in comics as a relevant artistic form.
Grant amount: 725,405.88 RSD
