ELCAF 2017 Programme Announced

By John Freeman on April 12, 2017

London and New York-based publisher Nobrow has announced its plans for ELCAF 2017, the 6th East London Comics & Arts Festival, dedicated to showcasing the most exciting talent in comics, sequential art, illustration and storytelling.

In June 2017, ELCAF is running another three day programme of talks, workshops, screenings and signings alongside an exhibitor showcase of small press and independent publishing.

Guest artists this year include Anna Hai sch, Tommi Mitsuri, Sarah Glidden, Rob Flowers, Max Baitinger, It’s Raining Elephants, Anouk Boisrobert and Louis Rigaux, Flatpack Cinema, Tower Block Books, Emily Hughes, Donya Todd, Ed Cheverton, Simon Moreton, Antoine Cossé, Una, Albertine and Germano Zullo, Nick White, and Bianca Bagnarelli – with more to be announced.

Nicolas Burrows was the winner of the ELCAF Award 2016 and his new book The Elephant Hotel will launch at ELCAF 2017.

Art by Icinori

As with every edition, ELCAF invites an internationally celebrated artist to create a unique identity for the year and the organisation say they are extremely honoured to have Icinori as this year’s artists-in-residence.

Icinori aka Mayumi Otero and Raphael Urwiller are a French design duo whose passion for design, image and form has seen them publish a staggering body of work. They often experiment with structure, colour and composition to create visual narratives that are strikingly beautiful and thoughtfully considered.

Having attended every ELCAF since 2012 ELCAF are thrilled to shine the spotlight on their work and see their designs bring new life to ELCAF 2017.

Icinori’s artwork will feature across the festival hall, website, banners and printed publications.

The ELCAF Season breakdown

ELCAF x Foyles, a new partnership that sees ELCAF-inspired events across our partners Foyles’ national stores – beginning with children’s workshops with Katie Harnett in Chelmsford, Owen Davey in Birmingham, Nous Vous in the London Charing Cross store, and an author’s reception with Ed Cheverton, Simon Moreton and Donya Todd in Bristol.
The Rise of Riso exhibition at Foyles Gallery, Charing Cross – Thursday 8th June – Monday 10th July

Featuring seven international risograph studios including the US, Sweden, Italy, London and Japan.

Springboard Meetings at Foyles Charing Cross, Saturday 10th June

An afternoon of Springboard meetings, giving you the chance to meetwith an industry expert, show your work, ask questions and gain insight into the professional creative industries of comics and narrative illustration. Each expert is available for an hour, divided into 15 minute slots of which you can book for free.

Make your own Island workshop with Icinori, Sunday 21st May

In collaboration with NOW Gallery and Urban Village Fete in Greenwich. A drop-in workshop that will use visual elements of the exhibition to encourage participants to create their very own version of The Island.

ELCAF x NOW Gallery Exhibition, Friday 20th May – Sunday 25th June

The Island is a site-specic interactive storytelling experience for all ages imagined and created by French illustrator duo Icinori. As visitors step into the story, they begin their journey told through a three- dimensional landscape, characters and words. The installation explores the possibilities of storytelling and puts the public in the middle of the narrative, hinting at the importance of imagination & ights of fancy.

PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 19th May (18.00 – 21.00)

Shapely Stories, Katie Johnston (Day Job Studio)

Wednesday 31st May

Once again ELCAF are teaming up with Hackney Central Library to offer a free drop-in community workshop in illustration.

Masterclasses at the House of Illustration. Three specialist all-day masterclasses have been programmed to run over May and June. Leading artists will be Emily Hughes, Bianca Bagnarelli and Paul Layzell.

ELCAf also host two awards: The ELCAF x WeTransfer Award recognises an artist who is excelling in their field by giving a grant of £3,500 to a winning submission; and the ELCAF Audience Award invites guests, fellow artists and publishers pick a winner from the 2017 exhibitor during the festival.

• The ELCAF season will start on 22nd April 2017 at Foyles and culminates in the festival itself on 16, 17 and 18th June 2017. Web: www.elcaf.co.uk Twitter @elcafest | Facebook | Instagram

• Festival opening times are: Friday, Sat and Sun 12 – 7

• Tickets for general festival entry and masterclasses are live now. Main programme ticket sales go live on Friday 29th April 2017 via the ELCAF website. Entry will be priced at £10 for three days or £5 per day. Free for under 16’s

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.