Now here’s a nice example of “comics across the world.” TCAF, the Toronto Arts Festival, has taken a booth at Tokyo’s Kagai Manga Festa on November 18th, and will allow certain Canadian cartoonists to exhibit at the booth for free.
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival will be making its first exhibition abroad, at the first-ever Kaigai Manga Festa (International/Overseas Comics Festival) being held Sunday, November 18th, in Tokyo, Japan. TCAF will have a booth space there and will be promoting the festival and cartoonists who have exhibited there through posters, give-aways, and sales & displays of Canadian comics and graphic novels. Our initial partners on this venture are Canadian publishers Drawn & Quarterly and Koyama Press, whose works will be displayed at the Festival. In addition, we will be exhibiting alongside Canadian publisher UDON Comics.
Now here’s the part that’s most exciting for me (and for you!): TCAF will be making available exhibition space at Kaigai Manga Festa, for free, to any Canadian cartoonist who has exhibited at TCAF at least once since its inception. Basically, if you can get yourself to Tokyo, we will help you exhibit your comics and promote your work to the more than 40,000 attendees of this event (not to mention international publishers, licensing agents, etc. in attendance!). We will also probably do things like organize group dinners and teach you how to ride the train, that sort of thing, but the big thing is: Come promote your work and further your career in Tokyo.
The Festa is a one day event spotlighting alternative comics within the larger Comitia event and already features guests Emmanuel Lepage, Regis Loisel, Benoit Peeter, Francois Shuiten, and Jean-David Morvan, and Katsuhiro Otomo. TCAF organizer is putting together the booth details—which will only be open to Canadian cartoonist who have already exhibited at TCAF—and exhibiting cartoonsits must pay their own way to Japan, of course.
A lengthy FAQ has answers to all the burning questions including possible plans to expand opportunities for guests (and sad news for wannabe tagalongs)—but overall it sounds like a great opportunity for some cartoonists to expose their work to one of the most comics friendly audiences on earth.
I like the “if you can get yourself to Tokyo” part. But it IS a great opportunity for those who CAN get there on their own dime.