Historic Harrogate venue to 'entice new visitors' with exciting comic book exhibition
Harrogate’s only publicly-owned gallery will “open people’s eyes to the vibrant contemporary art form of comic art and graphic novels” in a forthcoming exhibition.
Mercer Gallery has been working with the team at the forthcoming Thought Bubble and with Avery Hill Publishing to put together a very modern show which aims to bring lots of new visitors into the historic venue whose roots lie in the 19th century.
Opening later this month in time for this year’s Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival, the exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the work of leading comic artists and an important snapshot of the UK comics landscape over the past decade.
Karen Southworth, Exhibitions Curator at the Mercer said “Through working with Thought Bubble and Avery Hill Publishing, we believe that comics and graphic novels are a valuable, but often overlooked, part of our literary culture.
"We know this exhibition will inspire fans of comic art but we hope it will open lots more people’s eyes to discover this vibrant and accessible art form”.
From the early superhero comics of the 1930s underground comix scenes of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, to the rise of manga and Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning Maus in the ‘90s, generations have grown up reading comics.
Called Vision & Labour: Making Comics – The Art Of Avery Hill Publishing, the exhibition has been organised in partnership with Thought Bubble, the UK’s largest comic art festival which takes place in Harrogate annually in November.
On display will be original artwork by 16 diverse artists, shown alongside the finished books, offering an insight into the different creative process of making comics.
There will also be photo opportunities with life-size recreations of book covers and an interactive game designed by artist and designer George Wylesol.
Avery Hill Publishing co-founder Ricky Miller said: “This exhibition is an exciting way for us help new creators into comics and a great chance for us to look back on what we’ve created over the years."
There will be gallery tours over the Thought Bubble weekend with some of the exhibiting artists: