The first annual Taichung Comic Arts Festival kicked off on August 11. Famed Belgian comic artist Brecht Evens came to Taiwan for the event, and to meet Taiwanese fans. The international and local comic professionals in attendance attracted many visitors to the festival, and earned their approval of the event. Mayor Lin Jialong visited the festival on the 27th, during the last weekend of summer vacation, chatting with Not Big Issue magazine creators, and stating that he will strive to promote ACG (anime, comics, and gaming) industries in Taichung.

Mayor Lin visited the festival together with Information Bureau Chief Zhuo Guanting, took a tour of Brecht Evens’ work guided by festival organizer Lin Liqing, and traveled to Not Big Issue to meet with creators from Taichung and Taiwan as a whole, as well as Belgian illustrator Germain Canon. When Mayor Lin left, Lin Liqing presented him with a signed illustration by Brecht Evens. Also in attendance were City Council member Qiu Suzhen and a representative for Legislator Huang Guoshu.

Mayor Lin stated that, in order to promote Taichung as a city for comics, the city must start by promoting comics and illustration. Festival organizer Lin Liqing showed him many outstanding works of art, showing him that the world of comics is full of creativity. By picking up a comic, one can discover a forgotten world. If Taichung is to become a capital for creativity, then it is important to promote the arts of animation, comics, and illustration, while simultaneously creating a suitable environment for artists to perfect their art in Taichung. To this end, the city government has held the Taichung International Animation Festival for the past 3 years, further holding the Taichung International Comic Arts Festival this year and creating a base for comic artists and illustrators to live in.

Mayor Lin had even more good news: the city government is set to work with the Ministry of Culture to expand the Taiwan Film Institute and transform it into the National Comic Arts Museum. This museum will allow Taiwan to preserve and display historical comics, transforming the venue into an interactive modern comic arts center.

Mayor Lin stated that Taichung possesses proper cultural, industrial, and personnel, and so hosting the International Comic Arts Festival was an important first step. He was happy to see so many comic artists gathered together, and hopes that everyone may make themselves at home in Taichung. The city has made preparations for comic and animation artists from Taiwan and around the world to live, work, and create in Taichung. Let us create a vibrantly creative city together.

The media asked what advantages Taichung provided to make it a comic and animation industry center. “Taichung’s advantage is the determination of the mayor!” Lin responded. The most important requirement is having a leader with a clear position. Taichung also has infrastructure for ACG industries, and so must begin with the development of talent. For this reason, the city government is revitalizing the old Fourth Market, and turning it into a base where comic artists and illustrators can live and work, for if you build it, they will come. The city government has also built an ACG industry development area in the Shuinan Smart City, allowing Taichung’s ACG industries to develop at pace.

The Information Bureau stated, the first Taichung International Comic Arts Festival was different from manga cosplay events, as this was organized to be similar to the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France, displaying the art like in an art exhibition, thereby promoting local comic art culture and the spirit of creativity. The Taichung International Comic Arts Festival is unique, and has brand positioning. In the future, Taichung’s comic arts festivals will display elements of comic arts from even more countries, with the core ideal of cultivating local talent, and setting its sights internationally, connecting Taichung to the rest of the world through soft power.

The Information Bureau stated that the Taichung International Comic Arts Festival selected 80 works by Belgian comic star Brecht Evens. His work is different from that which Taiwanese people are accustomed to. Evens gets rid of limitations like speech bubbles, and uses continuous panels and vibrant colors to tell a story. Even in the relatively diverse European comic world, Evens’ work is unique. The festival featured regular guided and audio tours of Evens wondrous work.

In addition to the festival and Not Big Issue, international animation screenings were held Monday through Friday, featuring family friendly European animations and a selection of award winning pieces from the Taichung International Animation Festival. On the weekend, the festival held workshops including a hand serigraphy experience, where a teacher showed students the joys of screen printing starting from the basics on Saturday. Sunday featured a silhouette experience, where students made their own colorful human-shaped silhouettes, and inserted them into Evens’ illustrations in a method similar to shadow puppets, further immersing visitors in Evens’ work.