As Tom Spurgeon noted earlier this week on Comics Reporter it’s all fine and dandy when governments and other official bodies start recognizing comics for the artform that it is, and start getting involved in the organisation of comics festivals, as long as they have the money. As was discussed marginally earlier, there were some to-and-fro’s between the organisers of the Angoulême Festival and the city of Angoulême, which refused at least initially, and at least partly, to fund those parts of the festival’s logistics that it had vouched for in the past, which nearly caused some problems and concerns for the important festival.
Next on the list, it would seem, is the Comic Salon in Erlangen, Germany. This festival, the largest comics-themed event held in the German language, largely exists thanks to the support of the Erlangen City Council, which announced recently is to cut back its funding to a mere 50 000 Euros due to budget pressures brought on by the economic situation. According to Bodo Birk in the Nürnberger Zeitung, this potentially may leave the festival with simply not enough to even continue to exist; we’re all concerned and waiting to see what the word will be once the organisers have absorbed the details of the cut and considered their impact.
It would be a shame to see this festival, which is slated for June, disappear, as it has had a rather impressive list of events in the past, such as exhibitions on François Schuiten, Lorenzo Mattotti, Moebius, Alex Barbier, Will Eisner, Don Lawrence, Art Spiegelman, François Bourgeon, Joost Swarte, and Ulf K. Erlangen has also been quite instrumental in the introduction of lesser known comics, such as the Chinese Manhua, to the German public, as well as being the venue for the prestigious Max und Moritz prize. Fingers crossed something can be sorted out and the Erlangen Salon is secured to continue for many more years to come.
Tue, Feb 9, 2010
Comics and cartoons, Conventions and events, From our Continental Correspondent