The British Council Lebanon is hosting the IN BETWEEN Festival, running from 16th – 20th November 2022 in Beirut, which includes a comic strip presentation by Bernard Hage, commonly known as “The Art of Boo”.
The presentation is funded by Comic Art Europe, of which the Lakes International Comic Art Festival is a project partner.
The IN BETWEEEN festival will convene multi, cross, and inter-disciplinary cultural and creative activities revolving around the creative economy and global matters.
LICAF will be presenting, as an exhibition, a giant one-page comic entitled “The Philosopher“, an inner monologue about the individual’s attitude toward community, in theory and practice, by the organisation’s most recent Kendal-based artist in residence, Bernard Hage, best known as “The Art of Boo”, who is from Lebanon, but based in Berlin.
The exhibition will launch with a special event with Bernard, on Saturday 19th November in Beirut.
The project was funded by Comic Art Europe, a pilot project bringing together four European organisations representing different elements of the comic book – the Comics Art Museum Brussels, Escola Joso Centro de Cómic y Artes Visuales, LICAF, and the Lyon BD Festival.
The ever-shifting local and global landscapes have produced complete liminality, where projections are unclear and boundaries undefined. As a result, new spaces have emerged – ones for perception and creation – as they echo newfound opportunities to rethink how Arts and Culture can contribute to moving forward. In response, the free IN BETWEEN festival expands on a yearlong programme of professional capacity-building initiatives in the Visual Arts, Dance and Performing Arts, Music and Games sectors to include Theatre and Literature, and invites the audience to think of the possibilities in the spaces in between.
IN BETWEEN presents a diverse programme of 23 components across NINE spaces in Beirut, and is realised in partnership with 28 entities. The festival will also host 15 delegates from the UK to further develop relationships and initiatives with leading practitioners from Lebanon’s cultural and creative sector.
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
“We’re delighted to be part of this major event,” says LICAF director Julie Tait, who will also be in Beirut for the launch of the exhibition. “Platforms like IN BETWEEN give us a tremendous opportunity to boost our overall message, that Comics Can Change the World.”
Bernard Hage, better known as “The Art of Boo”, who left a career in advertising in 2012, for a life in illustration and comics. His first solo exhibition, Undressed – Society’s Reflection in Its Brandsat Artlab gallery, Beirut, in 2014. He then launched his first book of illustrated short stories and an original music soundtrack titled In the Dead of Night – Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups in 2017.
His recent book, Anatomy of A Hummus Plate, published in April 2021, is a compilation of social and political cartoons that documents Lebanon’s economic and political collapse. Launched in Beirut, the book received disappointing reviews, most of which originated from furious vegans who were misled by the title and thought the content was no laughing matter.
Best known for his cartoons, he’s published weekly with L’Orient Le Jour since 2018, the French language Lebanese daily that offered him a very large amount of exposure in return for his hard work. His work has been hailed by regional and international media, popular blogs and his mother.
Currently, Bernard resides in Berlin, where he pursues his dream of becoming a young millionaire by introducing sense of humour to the local community.
• THE PHILOSOPHER BY THE ART OF BOO
Opening Event 5.00pm – 6.00pm, Saturday 19th November, As-Safir Newspaper, GF
Art of Boo illustrates an inner monologue about the individual’s attitude toward community, in theory and practice, through a new comic. Exhibition runs until Sunday 27th November 2022, 11.00am – 6.00pm
In partnership with the Lakes International Comic Art Festival
• Entrance to the INBETWEEN Festival is free, but registration is obligatory | Web: agendaculturel.com/event/in-between-festival
• British Council Lebanon – https://www.britishcouncil.org.lb/en
• Bernard Hage (“The Art of Boo”) is online at theartofboo.com | Facebook | Instagram| Twitter
• Comic Art Europe: comicarteurope.eu
• Comics Art Museum Brussels: comicscenter.net
• Escola Joso. Centro de Cómic y Artes Visuales: escolajoso.com
• Lakes International Comic Art Festival: comicartfestival.com
• Lyon BD Festival: lyonbd.com
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere 29th September to 1st October 2023 – is online at: www.comicartfestival.com | Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast: www.comicartpodcast.uk | Twitter: @comicartfestpod | Facebook: @ComicArtPodcast | Instagram: @ComicArtPodcast
Lakes Arts Festivals, who run LICAF, is also planning to run comic art activity in many other cities and towns throughout the UK, including Kendal, along with an extensive international programme.
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