RETROSPECTIVE
The third annual BKK Comics Art Festival (BCAF#3) was held during October 2024 once again at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) in the heart of Bangkok.
In establishing the festival back in 2022, bkk UNZINE intended to celebrate the art form of comics by bringing together myriad artists, each possessing a unique approach to this storytelling medium. We want to bring to light and celebrate these diverse talents and approaces in comics, and in doing so to hopefully inspire future creators to be part of this amazing industry. We’ve all read comics in our lives in one way or another, whether in strips, single issues, digests or collected editions, and there are so many artists who dream of creating comics and yet presently in Thailand there is little to no infrastructure to producing comics as a profession and therefore events such as these are instrumental in not only keeping the flame of the comics medium alive, but also building a community among comic creators.
As with the years before, the BCAF#3 is both a two-week gallery exhibition and a two-day weekend convention of events.
Exhibition dates: October 1st to 13th 2024
Convention dates: October 12th and 13th 2024
Location: Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)– 5th floor
Sketchman Boris explains the aims of the BKK Comics Art Festival
An exhibition for the ages
We were extremely proud of our exhibition this year, by far the best curation of artists and comics art we’ve done thus far. Artists were categorized on the big curved wall of the BACC’s 5th floor in a way as to give a little history lesson on how each generation influenced the next, culminating with the amazing work of the artists of the bkk UNZINE community.
Our special guest, the legendary Mangaka Atsushi Kaneko, displayed pages of wonderfully kinetic comics pages along with those from other comic artists from outside of Thailand. Our festival is truly becoming international, and this year’s showing truly captured the vast scope of what the comics medium has to offer for visitors to see.
Also on display was Thai Comics Unbound, an academic paper in comics form composed by author of "The Art of Thai Comics: A Century of Strips and Stripes" and Belgian lecturer and comics researcher Nicolas Verstappen in collaboration with Thai cartoonist Lychee Chai.
Manga artist Atsushi Kaneko was our special featured guest
A visit to bkk UNZINE’s studio and community space UNZINE 95
Lots to do, so little time
Saturday October 12th was programmed with a packed line up of fabulous panels and activities for attendees to be participate in, from creative workshops, panel interviews and even an auction of work by festival artists and the talented children of Baan Nokkamin Foundation, our nonprofit sponsor for this year’s festival, a Christian organization offering assistance to orphans, underprivileged children, the elderly and drug addicts. Singaporean comic artist Juliette Yu Ming Lizeray conducted a fun-filled session teaching attendees how to craft their own personal diary comic zine, American artist Mike Van Orden held a workshop on how to draw dynamic poses for superheroes and Du Bút Books, a Vietnamese indie publisher, was also on hand for an insightful discussion about the evolving Asian comics industry that covered trends, challenges, and future opportunities. Next year, we aim to expand the convention in order to accommodate even more possible activities.
Mke Van Orden teaches drawing dynamic poses
Du Bút Books talks the Asian comics industry
Juliette Yu Ming Lizeray’s zine-making workshop
Saturday’s schedule
We are extremely grateful to The Japan Foundation, whose grant made Atsushi Kaneko’s participation possible, and to our sponsors Huion and Clip Studio Paint for generously donating exciting products: Huion provided 4 drawing tablets and Clip Studio Paint offered four one-year licenses of as prizes for opur lucky draw. During the convention, Hippo Tech was also be on hand to offer their power banks for rent free of charge as a limited special offer at the bkk UNZINE booth, and our long-time supporter The Embassy of Belgium provided refreshments for the convention’s opening reception.
We’re also truly thankful to and appreciate the support of all those involved who helped make the BCAF#3 such a success, and all the attendees who graced our event. Each year, the festival grows…Keep a look out in this space for exciting announcements about next year’s festival!
bkk UNZINE is a free independent art magazine released to subscribers every 1st of the month, featuring submissions from artists curated into monthly themes. The magazine publishes online issues and organizes events to promote awareness of artists in Bangkok.