Comic Book Festival Dublin
Issue #8: 17-20 May 2023
Fête de l'Illustration & de la Bande Dessinée
About
Alliance Française Dublin , Illustrators Ireland and the French Embassy in Irelandare proud to celebrate the 8th Anniversary of their partnership in presenting the Fête de l ’illustration & de la Bande Dessinée. In 2023, we present a comic book festival that celebrates the diverse traditions of the French ‘Bande Dessinée’ and the Irish tradition of Storytelling. We will welcome a range of creative talent to the Alliance Francaise, guaranteed to inspire, entertain and amaze.
The 8th Comic Book Festival Dublin, taking place from 17th to 20th May, will include a series of events including discussions, live readings, screenings, and creative workshops for children, teenagers and adult .
Events
All events are free of charge. Please note early booking is essential (except for the Exhibition)
- Performance
Live Readings
& Book Fair- Illustrators Ireland has selected the most promising indie comic makers from Ireland and France to bring their comics to life. The experience is a fully immersive storytelling event that combines illustration, sound, and live performance in what feels like a cross between theatre and animation. After the performance by the artists, a live talk and Q& A will be moderated by illustrator Melanie Whelan.
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Wednesday 17 May – 6.30pm
Admission Free
Alliance Française Dublin
- Talk
Meet Sarah Bowie
& Nathaniel Legendre- An in-depth look at the works of two major comic artists: Nathaniel Legendre (France) and Sarah Bowie (Ireland) will present their craft and go through the process of bringing an idea to its visual iteration. Two artists, two cultures, two different stories, two different styles. Talks presented in English by Irish illustrator Melanie Whelan. The event will be followed by a book sale & signing.
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Thursday 18 May – 6.30pm
Admission Free
Alliance Française Dublin
- Online Screening
Titeuf:
Le Film- To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the beloved comic book and animation series character Titeuf created by Zep, the Festival will be streaming for free the 2011 full feature film Titeuf between 18th and 21st May. In this movie - Titeuf's life never been worse - Nadia didn't invite him to her birthday party, his parents are close to be deported - and everything looks so bad. No one can solve the problems now but Titeuf in his funny way ... Or maybe he'll fail too?
- From 7 years old. English with French subtitles
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18 - 21 May
Admission Free
Streaming on Eventive
- Teenagers' Workshop
Storytelling & Character Design
with Sarah Bowie- In this writing and drawing workshop with award-winning illustrator Sarah Bowie, participants will be guided through an interactive session where they will learn how to: Create their own characters / Build a world for their characters / Take their characters on an amazing adventure. Participants will be shown how to plot and layout their story. The end result will be their very own mini-comic - written, illustrated and designed by them!
- Workshop in English designed for teenagers
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Friday 19 May – 5pm
€10 / €5 AF Members
Alliance Française Dublin
- Onsite Screening
Michel Ocelot's
Dilili à Paris- Dilili à Paris will be screened on our final evening, a French, German, and Belgian computer-animated period adventure film written and directed by Michel Ocelot (Kirikou, Azur & Asmar) . In the Belle Époque, a little Kanak girl is investigating a mystery in Paris.
- From 7 years old. English with French subtitles
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Friday 19 May – 6.30pm
€5 / Free for AF Members
Alliance Française Dublin
- Children's Workshop
Comics, Colour & Poetry
with Fiona Dowling- In this hands-on workshop in English and French with Franco-Irish illustrator Fiona Dowling, we will use lots and lots of exuberant colours and words, we will cut them all up, mix them together and we will get… a brand new comic!
- From 7 years old. Materials provided
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Saturday 20 May – 11am
€10 / €5 AF Members
Alliance Française Dublin
- Adults' Workshop
Graphic Memoir
with Melanie Whelan- Come and learn how to use your own life as inspiration in comics. Comic book maker Melanie Whelan will take you through a series of exercises and show you how to use your own everyday experiences to create a comic. From the most mundane to the extraordinary- inspiration is all around us!
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Saturday 20 May – 2pm
€10 / €5 AF Members
Alliance Française Dublin
- Exhibition
Lines of
Communication- Offering a unique blend of storytelling visual styles, Illustrators Ireland and friends are delighted to present an exhibition of recent work entitled Lines of Communication. This year’s artists include illustrators, comics makers, graphic novelists, designers and teachers. These large-scale works are guaranteed to enchant and enthral you!
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From May to June
Admission Free
Alliance Française Dublin
Artists
We are honoured to welcome this year 11 illustrators and comic book authors of French and English languages. Many thanks to all of them.
2023 guests:
Sarah Bowie
Ireland
Sarah Bowie is an author and illustrator based in Waterford City, Ireland. Since 2015, she has published three books for children, and her stories have appeared in The Guardian and The Irish Times. Her fourth book, Kevin's In A Mood, launched March 13th. Sarah is co-founder of The Comics Lab (a space to explore visual storytelling) and of Ireland’s first Graphic Short Story Prize in partnership with The Irish Times. She is founder of the weekly meetup group Waterford Sketchers.
Fiona Dowling
France/Ireland
Fiona Dowling is a French-Irish visual artist, performer and storyteller living in the West of Ireland. The inspiration for her work comes from her childhood spent between Ireland and France- a contrast of two worlds: the exuberant and colourful world of her street-trader father in Dublin and the orderly world of her conservative grandparents in France
Dowling is currently weaving all the strands of her art to tell her full story in the graphic novel Excuse my French.
Debbie Jenkinson
Ireland
Debbie Jenkinson is a cartoonist from Dublin. Her comics explore the glorious absurdity, heartache and mundanity of our existences, like Remorse, a comic about a girl who gets trapped in a call centre job for ten years. Her most recent book, the graphic thriller Ghosting, won the ICN Awards’ Overall Best Irish Comic 2020 and made The Irish Times’ Best Graphic Novel of 2021 list. She recently launched Midlands, a book about a homesick pharmacist in small town Ireland.
Julien Laloy
France
Julien has always loved comics, from lazy summer afternoons spent at his grandmother’s house, a stack of comics by his side, to creating his own stories at the École des Arts d’Ixelles
Even now, although he works as a French teacher in Ireland, he always finds the time to allow his imagination take shape on paper and loves to share these stories with an enthusiast public during the live readings at the Alliance Française.
Nathaniel Legendre
Ireland
Nathaniel Legendre is native from Cherbourg and a Beaux-Arts graduate. He brought comic book authors from across France to produce fanzines and create innovative illustrations for the Comic Box magazine. By 2020 he had scripted 18 albums, including Zigeuner, 1st prize in the comic book category by VSD magazine. In October 2022, Orep published Mystère à la Cité de la Mer, an illustrated children’s book drawn and edited by Legendre.
Nene Lonergan
Ireland
Nene Lonergan is a Thai-Chinese artist living in Ireland . She is an illustrator and comic artist, and currently an animation student at Limerick School of Art and Design. Her works have been published in the OPArts: Out of Place Artifacts anthology and the HOME anthology . She was part of Childrens’ Books Ireland’s first ‘Raising Voices’ fellowship programme. In a difficult world, she enjoys creating images that make people feel okay
Mari Rolin
France
Mari Rolin is a Brazilian artist, linguist, and occasional writer, currently residing in Kerry, Ireland. She is one half of the team behind the webcomic Chaotic Neutral and the editing of the anthology OPArt (2021, Romaria Comics). She is also an artist in several other comic book anthologies, including Turning Roads (2021), Down Below (2022) , and Home (2022). She self-published zines Buyoancy (2020) and Profile (2021).
Margaret Anne Suggs
Ireland
Margaret Anne illustrates with a cheerful colour palette and a distinct femininity. She serves as a Director for both Illustrators Ireland and IBBYIreland. She also lectures part-time at Ballyfermot CFE, where she founded the illustration course. Mags’ recent awards include an Arts Council Bursary and a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Her solo exhibition, Home is Where the Heart Is, opened in July at Garter Lane in Wexford.
Melody Ung
France
Melody is a French illustrator and cartoonist with Vietnamese origins.
She is passionate about understanding human nature and connecting with others through their shared stories.
Her illustrated works can be seen in various magazines and podcasts. Her first book was published in 2022 , La cuisine vietnamienne illustrée (Mango Editions), a fully illustrated Vietnamese cookbook.
Melanie Whelan
Ireland
Melanie Whelan is an Illustrator, writer, and comic book maker. Her work explores the connections between humans and the natural world. Whelan's short story collection Dispatches from the West won the DCAF printing prize in 2018. She is currently working on a full-length Graphic Novel titled Journey to Ciudad Perdida.
Eoin Whelehan
Ireland
Eoin Whelehan is a visual artist from Dublin. His work uses a range of influences – music, graphic novels and comics, urban environments, puns and historical practises. His creative process encompasses the traditional disciplines of drawing and painting, incorporating mixed media and digital experiments.
Partners
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Contact
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