Comicon is meant to make people discover and appreciate the ability and the good results achieved by some of the most important Italian and international comic-strip writers, contributing in this way to the reduction of the gap between the so-called major arts and comics, which are considered as the 9th form of art. To make the festival's aim even more evident, the Comicon is held in Castel Sant?Elmo, a medieval castle adapted as museum and home to several art exhibitions, and in an art city like Naples, which is becoming an important centre for contemporary art and which, also in virtue of this, attracts many tourists, who take advantage of the travel deals for Naples. For over 10 years (the first edition dates back to 1998), the comics festival has pursued its cultural end concentrating above all on quality and going thoroughly into the matter, through carefully-organised and elaborated exhibitions, but also through a variety of events (debates, screenings, previews, seminars, competitions and exhibitions of young talents? works), which are meant to highlight that comics must be considered as a form of art.
The Comicon's programme is always very rich and interesting: spending a weekend in Naples you will not only have the possibility to visit the festival's stalls and to buy some comics and gadgets, but also to immerse yourself in this fantastic world meeting, for example, your favourite artists: some of the most awaited comic-strip writers are Tanino Liberatore, who has realised the festival's poster and to whom an exhibition will be dedicated, Alan Davis, a universally known artist that has also worked with important magazines like Warrior and 2000 AD, and Massimo Carnevale, who is working for Dylan Dog and to whom, like Liberatore, an exhibition will be dedicated. To make people enter the world of comics, the Comicon hosts every year L'Ufficio scuola Napoli Comicon, a workshop hold by an artist, a cartoonist or a scriptwriter that makes visitors (over 20.000 people a year, many of them staying in a cheap bed and breakfasts of Naples), take part in the event in an active way.
Besides supporting the 9th art, the comics festival is also intended to praise the best of this field, and during the Comicon, indeed, a jury of experts including cartoonists, artists, musicians and professors will award the Attilio Micheluzzi prizes to the best comics, the best cartoonist, the best scriptwriter, the best realistic comic series, the best humorous comic series, the best international comics and so on. Furthermore, people can take part in the Imago competition: participants are asked to realise works about the theme We all live in a yellow submarine let's renew energy!, while the Comicon Cosplay Challenge awards prizes to the best cosplays? costumes and performances.
To make the programme even richer, the Comic(on)off includes a series of events that will take place outside Castel Sant?Elmo, like the exhibition and the meeting with the comic-strip writer Isabel Kreitz at the Goethe- Institut and the exhibition on ?ngel de la Calle at the Instituto Cervantes.
Date: 24th ? 26th April 2009
Dove: Castel Sant?Elmo, Naples, Itay
Many festivals and events take place all over the world to celebrate this form of art, and in every city the theatre season is considered as the flagship of the annual programme of cultural events. The Theatrical Reminiscences festival in Krakow, which hosts every year plays by both Polish and international playwrights, is certainly one of the most renowned events in this field, as well as one of the most ancient and appreciated theatre events in Poland. It takes place every year in March or April (this year it will be held from the 20th to the 26th of April), giving tourists the possibility to combine a high-level cultural event with a trip to one of the most beautiful European cities, in a period of the year in which the arrival of spring makes a holiday in Krakow even more appealing.
The first edition of the festival took place in 1975, and in the beginning the festival's formula was different: organisers, indeed, were interested above all in alternative theatre (the event was called Festival of Alternative Theatres), and in the phenomenon of the student theatre movement, which was very important in Poland between the 60s and the 80s. In this period the festival began to host the premieres of some of the most outstanding Polish plays, achieving international importance and renown with the passing of time. In 2002 the festival's organisers changed, and so did its formula, but the festival kept being an unmissable event for all theatre lovers, who every year take advantage of low cost travel deals to watch good theatre performances.
The most meaningful change concerns the label alternative, which was removed also from the festival's official name: with the new formula the festival is meant to widen its perspective and to approach the existing different forms of theatre expression without genre boundaries, in order to offer a complete and truthful image of what is really happening in this field. This choice was caused also by the changes that have characterises the world of theatre in the last few years: even traditional theatre has begun to follow some of the paths traced by alternative theatre, making it more and more difficult to distinguish between alternative and non-alternative theatre. Another important change in the festival's formula is to be found in the fact that every edition of the festival takes inspiration from a different theme, which gives all the plays a common denominator. This formula allows a more direct confrontation between different forms of expression, giving at once the possibility to consider plays from a different point of view.
Despite the change in the formula, Theatrical Reminiscences keeps attracting many people with a passion for theatre in Krakow's bed and breakfast, also thanks to the interesting events (films projections, debates, workshops, concerts) that take place in the city during the festival.
Date: 20th 26th April 2009 Location: various venues, Krakow, Poland
Michele De Capitani has sinced written about articles on various topics from Argentina Travel, Interior Design and Finances. This article was written by Francesca Tessarolo with support from for any information, please. Michele De Capitani's top article generates over 110000 views. to your Favourites.