Over 40 professional cartoonists from all over
the UK will be descending upon the Lace Market and Hockley, the
very centre of the city鈥檚 creative and cultural core, to take part
in the UK鈥檚 biggest cartoon festival.
Big Grin is all about demystifying the art of cartooning for
the people of Nottingham. |
Pete Dredge
(cartoonist and organiser) |
Riding high on the success of last year鈥檚 festival,
this year鈥檚 Big Grin will be bigger, better, and bursting with cartoon
fun.
Big Grin maps will lead visitors on a cartoon
trip through the eight venues that will play host to cartoon, digital
and animation workshops and cartoon clinics for both children and
adults, covering everything from how to make a cartoon mask, to
how to get a cartoon published.
Special screenings of cartoon movies will be shown
at Broadway Cinema, and venues will be swarming with artists making
live drawings, including free caricatures for everyone.
As well as Nottingham-based and international artists,
special guests attending the festival will include Viz magazine
and Funday Times cartoonists.
Visitors will be given the opportunity to see a
number of hugely contrasting exhibitions; Broadway鈥檚 Mezzanine gallery
space will hold 30 ground-breakingly irreverent Viz cartoon originals,
(a rare chance to see the "Fat Slags" in the flesh), and The Galleries
of Justice will exhibit a retrospective collection of works by the
late radical middle-eastern human rights cartoonist, Mahmoud Kahil.
Also attending the festival will be Mahmood鈥檚 daughter
Dana Trometer, a documentary film-maker and author, who is currently
promoting her father鈥檚 highly powerful and controversial silent
cartoons.
Others exhibitions will include, "God that鈥檚 funny!"
at St.Mary鈥檚 Church, comprising of works by some of the UK鈥檚 top
cartoonists, and "Draw not War" Human Rights cartoon exhibition
at New College Nottingham.
One of the main ideas behind the Big Grin is to
embrace many of the aspects of cartoon art, from the sublime to
the downright political.
Equally importantly, the Big Grin seeks to be as
inclusive as possible, making cartoons an accessible art form that
can be enjoyed and understood by many, often universally.
Pete Dredge, Nottingham-based cartoonist and festival
organiser says:
"Big Grin is all about demystifying the art of
cartooning for the people of Nottingham.
"As an art form cartooning falls somewhere
between art and journalism鈥he festival aims to engage the public
by bringing some of the best cartoonists into the heart of the city鈥檚
burgeoning cultural quarter."
The festival culminates in The Big Grinny Awards
Ceremony where honoured cartoonists will be presented with the much
sought-after Grinny Award.
For further details contact the .
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