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Finnish Comic Village rises up in Kendal, featuring Tove Jansson photographic exhibition and more

By John Freeman on October 10, 2017

Art by Petteri Tikkanen

The Finnish Institute in London launches The Finnish Village at the The Lakes International Comic Art Festival held in Kendal, Cumbria this weekend. The festival, which will take place 13th – 15th October, brings some of the biggest international names in comic art to Cumbria.

The Finnish Village opening will be on Saturday 14th October at the Arts & Media Campus of Kendal College. At the Village, an exhibition of contemporary Finnish comics will be on display, including works of renowned Finnish comic artists Johanna Rojola, Petteri Tikkanen and Emmi Valve. In addition to the three aforementioned artists, Tuula Karjalainen, the author of the biography of Tove Jansson and Sophia Jansson, the Artistic Director of Oy Moomins Characters Ltd, will also attend the celebrations over the festival weekend.

One of the most quirky elements of the Village will be a Finnish sauna, combined with arts and events.

At the festival, The Finnish Institute in London will also exhibit Tove Jansson: Tales from the Nordic Archipelago photography collection, which has previously been displayed at the ICA (The Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London. In addition, two documentaries on the life of Tove Jansson and a full-length Moomin animation will be screened at the festival.

Commissioned by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival to celebrate the work of Tove Jansson, “Archipelagogo ” is a spellbinding multimedia exhibition by artists Jonathan Edwards and Louise Evans (Felt Mistress) creating a group of fantasy islands and creatures.

Archipelagogo, an exhibition commemorating the life and work of Tove Jansson, will also be seen at the festival. Archipelagogo is a fantasy world of islands and their residents, created by British artists Jonathan Edwards and Louise Evans. The exhibition combines sound, visual arts and 3D modelling to create a distinctive, imaginative world of its own.

“I am proud of our collaboration with the The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, because it enables us to promote contemporary Finnish comic art in an international arena. Finland is known, amongst other things, for the relatively high number of female comic artists, as well as for the fact that Finland is the third largest comic-reading nation per capita in the world”, says Pauliina Ståhlberg, the Director of the Finnish Institute in London.

This year, one of the headliners of the festival will be Spanish-born Sergio Aragonés, who is perhaps best known for his work on the MAD Magazine.

At this year’s festival, he will also be announcing the first ever recipient of The Sergio Aragonés International Award for Excellence in Comic Art.

• The Finnish Institute is online at: www.fininst.uk

• Read our Kendal Calling interview with Petteri Tikkanen

Exhibitions

• Archipelagogo 3rd October – 4th November 2017 Wildman Gallery, Kendal – More information

• The Tales from the Nordic Archipelago 1st October – 2nd November 2017, Kendal Museum

• The full programme of events is now live on the Festival web site, along with details about its new Weekend Pass

• Buy your tickets for the fifth Lakes International Comic Art Festival here

• Download the Comics Festival app from iTunes here (requires iOS 10.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch)

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.