The Comics Alliance Network for Balkans is a cross-border cultural network, enabling cooperation between artists and professionals from the world of comics in the Western Balkans and European Union.
Historical comics in the Balkans have a past marked by nationalist discourses and communist propaganda. Unfortunately, in many cases, this also characterises contemporary Balkan comics. The cultural consortium of partners from Albania, Belgium, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia wants to change this. They will create a network to facilitate cooperation between artists and specialists in the world of historical comics in the Western Balkans and the European Union, in the spirit of the values of the European Union.
To achieve this goal, the consortium
- will encourage the creative exploration of history by comic artists in order to generate new works, original and unconventional contributions to the interpretation of European history in general and Balkan history in particular. This will include establishing a working tool (digital archive and historical studies) for the history of historical comics and an international open call to the artistic sector;
- will promote historical comics through cultural actions such as exhibitions, research projects, online platforms and public debates about cultural and social clichés and stereotypes in the Balkan world. The project is not only aimed at professional target groups (artists, specialists, organisations) or comic enthusiasts, but also the general public and the local communities hosting the project. Moreover, an important objective of the project is to increase the audience for comics through free public access to attractive cultural events such as the project exhibition and a digital platform.