Not a teenager anymore, Bilbolbul is in its early twenties but is still very determined to play. This festival dedicated to comics is about to take Bologna by storm once again and today it was presented to the press. This year’s theme was revealed: other realities, something that can mean almost anything, especially in the realm of illustrators. But it is also a declaration of intents and identity: with a market that is often saturated with biographical comics, graphic novels on famous people and graphic journalism, perhaps it is time to take a breath and focus on something other than reality. Or on other realities.
The most important author presented this year is definitely coherent with this mission. We are talking of Jack Kirby, aka “The King of Comics”, whose exhibition “Mosters, men and gods” will be hosted at Fondazione del Monte (via delle Donzelle, 2) featuring 70 figures of his superheroes and other creatures.
I also personally want to go see The Dungeon Master, the retrospective on Mat Brinkman, mostly because he was described as “A truly crazy man that lives in a hut in the Appalaches and was contacted by a publisher from Foggia”. I loved this presentation and wouldn’t miss his oeuvre for anything in the world.
On a gentler side, so to say, we have the work of Amandine Meyer, where children are immersed, almost morphed, into strange natural environments. The French artist will also decorate a room of the art hotel Al Cappello Rosso: for those who want to see it first, save the date: Sunday, november 25th at 7.30 PM.
Mangiami Bevimi (“Eat me drink me”) is the name of yet another exhibit, by Swedish illustrator Emelie Östergren whose world both intimate and grotesque in on display at Galleria Squadro (via Nazario Sauro, 27, and a great place: don’t miss the opportunity to visit it if you don’t know it yet), but the author will also be present in person for a “merenda” (yet another great Italian word for you my dears) at the lovely bookshop Trame (Via Goito 2, thursday 22nd at 4.30 PM)
These are just a handful of the many exhibits, workshops, conferences and activities for children that will animate (pun intended) Bilbolbul for its rich mini-week. And let’s not forget the festival’s amuse bouche, Anatomia delle macerie (“Anatomy of ruins”) by Guido Buzzelli, “The Michelangelo of Mosters”, that opened a month before the official opening of Bilbolbul and will remain on display at Accademia di Belle Arti (via delle Belle Arti, 54) until november 25th.
Full program at http://www.bilbolbul.net/
The Festival will be in full action on November 22-25th.
Flaneur in Bologna 