CAN for BALKANS – Comics Alliance Networking for Balkans

CAN for BALKANS – Comics Alliance Networking for Balkans

Project leader: Muzeul Judetean de Istorie Brasov, Romania

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinee, Belgium

National Historical Museum, Albania

Strip centar na Makedonija, North Macedonia

Association of comic book and written words lovers “Nikola Mitrović Kokan”, Serbia

Maximum grant awarded: 254,705.00 €

Historically, comic books in the Balkans have a past marked by nationalist discourses and Communist propaganda or simply, they do not have a past (the case of Albania). Unfortunately, in many cases sins of the past characterize the present-day comic books in the Balkans, which is why the regional artistic market of historical comic books is scarce, divided and autarchic.

Consortium of partners from Albania, Belgium, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia want to change the perspective and say “YES” to the creation of cross-border cultural network which should make cooperation between artists and experts from the world of historical comic books in the Western Balkans and the European Union easier, in the spirit of the values of the European Union.

In order to reach this aim, the consortium aims to:

• encourage creative research of history by comic book drawers in order to create new works and contribute to authentic and non-conventional interpretation of European history, especially the history of the Balkans, with influence on the cultural space dominated by cultural heritage with incompatible accents on European Union values, through establishing working tools (digital archive and historical study) of history of historical comic books and through an international call for artists;
• promote historical comic books through cultural actions such as exhibitions, research projects, online platforms and public debates about cultural and social cliches, and also stereotypes in the Balkans.

Moreover, this project is not only directed to the professional target group (artists, experts, organisations) or comic book lovers, but it also encompasses the wider public and local communities of project partners with the aim of increasing the comic book audience through free access to the most attractive cultural events (travelling exhibition of project in partner countries), and on the Internet (digital platform).