The BKK Comics Art Festival is back for its fourth edition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.
Held under the theme of storytelling, this year’s event invites an exploration of comics as a marriage of visuals and narrative. It showcases how local and international comic artists weave narrative through their pictures to tell stories, with or without words.
Organised annually since 2022, the festival highlights classic and contemporary comic art. It brings together artists and fans from around the world in a collaboration between bkk UNZINE and the Children of the Forest Foundation (COF).
The festival features an exhibition presenting how artists use pictures to convey narrative, whether it’s told sequentially from panel to panel, with or without words, or in single images such as splash pages and covers. Artists include Aaron Schmidt, Estelle Cruz, Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray, Le Thu and more.
The event will end on a high note with convention activities during the weekend of Oct 25-26, featuring presentations, panels, workshops and other fun activities for all ages.
The event will be joined by two special guests. With support from the Japan Foundation, Eldo Yoshimizu, a mangaka (comic artist) and author of Ryuko and Hen Kai Pan, will share insights into Japan’s manga and his own creations. In partnership with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Rimui Yumin, manga artist and author of The Funeral Concerto, will share her journey and storytelling process, as well as her inspiration. She will also be available for book signing.
For aspiring mangaka, Clip Studio Paint will hold a workshop by Thai artist Adisak “Das” Pongsampan, author of Before Becoming The Buddha, on using the studio’s tools for making comic books.
This year, bkk UNZINE has partnered with COF, a non-profit organisation that provides support to the stateless in Sangkhlaburi district, Kanchanaburi, in promoting comics. Incredible work by young COF artists will be available for auction at the event.