The Montreal Comic Arts Festival Unveils the Program of its 13th Edition!
Montréal, April 25, 2024 – For the 13th year, the Montreal Comic Arts Festival presents a rich and diverse program, with over 60 free activities organized around its theme Beyond Borders.
MCAF will be held on the territory of its collaborator, the SDC Rue Saint-Denis, from Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26, 2024. The street will be pedestrianized for the occasion, between Gilford and Roy streets, to welcome over 300 artists and 168 exhibitors under its tents.
A comic-book stroll that keeps attracting more and more people
1.2 km of activities, exhibitions and memorable encounters, regardless of the weather, that’s the promise of the Montreal Comic Arts Festival. Located near Laurier, Mont-Royal and Sherbrooke metro stations, the site is easily accessible by public transit or bicycle. Last year, more than 82,000 people came to enjoy this celebration.
Cartoonists from here and abroad gather in Montreal
For its 13th edition, MCAF welcomes a multitude of artists, including Jillian Tamaki, who is also the creator of this year’s poster; Tim Probert, presenting the 3rd volume of his series Lightfall; and Jeremy Perrodeau nominated for the 25th Bédélys International Award with Le visage de Pavil.
There will also be a number of visiting artists from Europe: Alex Baladi, Mortis Ghost, Lisa Mandel, Nino Bulling, Lorenzo Palloni and others.
On the Canadian side, Adam de Souza, Brandon Mitchell and Alison McCreesh will be present.
Quebec artists will, of course, be in the spotlight, with the participation of Chris Oliveros, Axelle Lenoir, Walter Scott, Cassandra Calin, Charles Beauchesne, Paul Bordeleau and many more.
In all, more than 300 comic artists from Quebec, Canada and abroad will be on site to meet their audiences at signing sessions and other activities.
A variety of activities to celebrate comic arts
With over 60 activities over the three days of the festival, there’s something for everyone.
Télé-Québec‘s La Fab à dessin will host a series of interviews that will bring us into the world of an artist with, among others, the French-Japanese author Isao Moutte or comic conversations that will have two artists drawing and discussing together.
Live drawing animations will be back to bring the whole family together and entertain them. Comic improvisation, creative workshops and comic quizzes will also be scheduled to satisfy every taste.
Panels presented by La Presse will cover a wide range of subjects with artists such as Sweeney Boo, Tillie Walden or Mathieu Benoit, and subjects such as On the road, Breaking the Border: Experimenting with Comics, and Stranger in a Strange Land: Expats and Immigrants.
There will also be special activities, including a discussion between artists Sarah Andersen and Joshua Barkman about their work and creative processes.
Once again, this year, MCAF has manga fans in mind, with workshops, the presence of Quebec’s first manga magazine Isekai Touch or mangaka Joël Dos Reis Viegas (Urbance).
Fans of Mathieu Bablet will be delighted to dive into the adaptation of his work Shangri-La with an immersive comic arts concert presented by Collectif Or Normes and studio Umanimation.
Two performances of this multidisciplinary show, with projections and musicians, will take place at the Société des arts technologiques [SAT] at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25 (with an admission fee – in french).
Exhibitions to showcase comics from here and abroad
Numerous exhibitions will be on display during the festival. Montréal Imaginaire presents a 21-panel portrait of the city through artists’ representations of it in comic books. With the help of researcher Thara Charland, MCAF has scoured its library for places and aspects of Montreal that make it so unique.
Continuing its tour of Quebec, the 2nd edition of Les chercheuses en BD exhibition, produced by MCAF, in partnership with the consulat général de France à Québec and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies, will also be on display.
Finally, the general public will be able to discover the exhibition The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance featuring panels from Gordon Hill’s illustrated history of the same name. The book powerfully portrays flashpoints in history when Indigenous peoples have risen up and fought back against colonizers and other oppressors.
Mai, mois de la BD
Mai, mois de la BD is an initiative from Bibliothèques Montréal, to which MCAF has been collaborating since 2016. This year’s library activities will be on the theme of love.
An exhibition dedicated to the finalists of the 25th Bédélys Awards, as well as a collection of comics available for free consultation, will be on display in the esplanade Tranquille library starting May 1. A discussion on humour in comics will also be held as part of mardis Tranquille on May 7. Liseur public will bring to life the stories of Éloïse Marseille on May 16, and of Jean-François Laliberté on May 21 during spontaneous readings in the neighbourhoods that inspired the two artists.
SDC Rue Saint-Denis businesses will also be joining the festivities. Colonel Moutarde will host a comic book themed quiz night on May 7; Quai des brumes will host an exhibition by artist Jeremy Perrodeau in May; and finally, the festival launches MCAF’s Rendez-vous with a special event with Lisa Blumen, nominated for the 25th Bédélys International Awards, at Mix’Heure on Saturday, May 11.
Find out more about all the activities of Mai, mois de la BD on the festival website.
Professional day and Bédélys Awards ceremony
MCAF invites comic artists to its professional day, which will be held on Thursday, May 23 at Montréal CoWork. Master class, training, networking opportunities and other activities for artists will be offered. The day will end with the opening night of the festival and the 25th Bédélys Awards ceremony recognizing the best comic books and graphic novels published in 2023. The winners will be announced at La Tulipe and the event will be hosted by journalist and host Marie-Louise Arsenault.
School Day
Five free activities on comic books, including a comic improvisation activity between cartoonists Sacha Lefevre and Caroline Soucy, will be offered to students from preschool and elementary school as part of BD POP!, the online school program of MCAF. The event will take place on Friday, May 24 and will be presented in collaboration with the librarians of the CSSDM, CSSMB and CSSPI, and École en réseau. Classes from everywhere in Canada who wish to attend the workshops by videoconference can register before May 23. Last year, over 30 000 kids enjoyed the activity! (Workshops are currently offered only in French.)
In addition, 2024 celebrates the return of local school visits to the festival site on Friday.
Partners
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is presented in collaboration with the SDC Rue Saint-Denis and would like to thank its major partners for their support: Télé-Québec, La Presse, Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, SODEC, Ministère du Tourisme, Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Ville de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal and Arrondissement Plateau–Mont-Royal.
MCAF aslo thanks its many programming partners: le consulat général de France à Québec, Italian Institute of Culture in Montreal, Consulate General of Brazil in Montreal, Consulate of Switzerland in Quebec, Pro Helvetia, Wallonie-Bruxelles International, Bibliothèques Montréal, École en Réseau, CSSDM, CSSMB, CSSDP, le Salon du livre de Montréal, Liseur Public, Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles, and Montréal CoWork.
About MCAF
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival (MCAF) is Montreal’s sole bilingual event dedicated to promoting comics and the artists who create them. This not-to-be-missed comic arts event drew over 82 000 people in 2023.
The 13th edition of MCAF will take place from May 24 to 26, 2024 on a pedestrianized Saint-Denis Street between Gilford and Roy. More than 300 comic artists from here and abroad are expected, and a diverse program of over 60 activities will be offered.
Year-round, MCAF organizes activities that contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge about the 9th art, for both professional and comic arts enthusiasts. For more information, visit fbdm-mcaf.ca.
Photos: Jean-Guy Campeau, Stéphanie Larivière, Sébastien Lavallée
Illustration: Jillian Tamaki
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MCAF contact:
Mélanie La Roche, Executive Director, melanie.laroche@fbdm-mcaf.ca
Press Relations:
Bénédicte Jutras, 514 651-1523, benedicte.jutras@rugicomm.ca
