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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (HKETO, Brussels), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has collaborated with Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) to support the Hong Kong comics industry's participation in the 42nd Angoulême International Comics Festival in France from January 29 to February 1.
An array of exchange activities allowed Hong Kong comics artists to explore collaboration opportunities with publishers and related creative industries from Europe and worldwide.
The Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) ran a booth at the festival under the name of Hong Kong Comix Boom!!, an arts and cultural exchange programme sponsored by CreateHK that seeks to promote Hong Kong comics at home and abroad.
An exhibition showcased comics and illustration works created by 30 Hong Kong comic artists on the theme of "Comix & the City".
Furthermore, five Hong Kong artists attended the festival, namely Bigsoil, Mandycat, Montagut Chuen, Keung Chi-kit and Leumas To, as well as comics publisher Alan Wan.
Ten live drawing demonstrations gave visitors a glimpse of the creation processes and specific skills of visiting Hong Kong comics artists and illustrators, who also gave autograph sessions and talks. The Executive Director of the HKAC, Ms Connie Lam, spoke about the Hong Kong comics industry and the development, business model and activities of Comix Home Base.
After its first leg in France, Hong Kong Comix Boom!! will be held at Comix Home Base in Hong Kong in July and August this year.
Speaking at a reception hosted by HKETO, Brussels on January 31, the Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Drew Lai, said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to promoting the development of comics and animation in Hong Kong.
"Comics and animation have been important and popular elements of Hong Kong's culture since the 1970s and a mirror of the development of our society. The Government is keenly aware of the new challenges facing the industry in the age of the Internet. We want to help comics and animation to build a larger consumer and audience base, so that this important expression of our culture can be passed on and appreciated by new generations," she said.
Miss Lai said that the Government has established a dedicated agency, CreateHK, to drive the development of the creative economy in Hong Kong and work closely with the trade to boost creative industries. A major initiative was the transformation of a cluster of heritage-listed buildings into Comix Home Base, the first institution in Hong Kong dedicated to nurturing new talent and promoting comics and animation.
"Comix Home Base is an important exchange platform for comics and animation fans, industry key players and artists from Hong Kong and other parts of the world," Miss Lai said.
She welcomed the translation of more Hong Kong comics into French, which is helping them reach new audiences.
Miss Lai also underlined that Hong Kong maintains the protection of intellectual property rights to the highest international standards, keeping its copyright regime under regular review in pace with the rapid development of the digital economy to ensure that Hong Kong remains a place where creativity and talent can flourish.
Founded in 1974, the Angoulême International Comics Festival is Europe's best-known comics festival. Hong Kong artists first made a major impact at the festival in 2011, when the "Kaleidoscope" exhibition on the history of Hong Kong comics since the 1960s and the participation of a group of comics artists and publishers put Hong Kong comics in the spotlight.
Ends/Sunday, February 1, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:03
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