SIGNS Since the dawn of time, humankind has searched for meaning in the wrinkles of daily life, seeking to understand our brief stay on the planet we call home. We read omens in nature, divine patterns in chance and (mis)fortune, and cling to shards of magic that pierce the veil of reality. Ancient myths, […]
Fri 21.11 14:00-00:00
Lecture
Illustrator Korneel Detailleur looks back on fifteen years of drawing, but also on working in the harbour, teaching, combining jobs, and rediscovering drawing. He shares how he rediscovered himself and his visual language along the way. This personal story is also the very theme of his upcoming book-in-progress. The first results are on view in […]
Fri 21.11 15:00-16:00
Elizabeth Haidle illustrates nonfiction stories about history, poetry, and memoir. As art and editorial director of Illustoria magazine, she explores how experimentation and personal practice can strengthen each other. During her lecture, she discusses how creating comics influences her ways of seeing, teaching, and storytelling.
Sat 22.11 14:00-15:00
Rozenn Brécard talks about her work and exploring ways to capture memory, time, and space. Her gouache paintings and pencil drawings play with transparency and subtle colour accents, making them fragile yet layered. In her lecture, she opens the door to her poetic visual world where observation and imagination blend seamlessly together.
Sat 22.11 15:00-16:00
Since the 1970s, Philippe Weisbecker has built an international career in between Paris, New York, and Japan. He has always remained true to his sober, architectural line, capturing only the essential and placing everyday objects on a pedestal. At the festival, he joins Nigel Peake in a conversation about drawing, observation, and the quiet beauty […]
Sat 22.11 16:00-17:00
Comics expert Bill Kartalopoulos is active in curating, writing, teaching, and publishing. He spent years as editor of Best American Comics and now programs the MoCCA Arts Festival in New York. Currently, he’s working on a new history of American comics. In his talk, he shares insights from his wide-ranging practice and the encounters with […]
Sun 23.11 15:00-16:00
Tara Booth is known for her expressive comics bursting with unfiltered humor. She tackles themes such as mental health and shame, often featuring herself as the main character. Her images are as raw as they are disarming, balancing between vulnerability and absurdity. Within the independent comics scene, Booth has found a unique voice that feels […]
Sun 23.11 14:00-15:00
This live event is not a traditional book club, but a meeting of creators. Three authors join in, browse through their most cherished sources of inspiration, talk about how their own work comes to life, and explore publications they discovered through Grafixx.
Sun 23.11 16:30-17:00
Éditions Matière specialises in publishing books at the intersection of drawing, comics, and design. Co-founder Laurent Bruel examines the various collections, shows how comics can challenge and surprise, and talks about the origins of a publishing house that demonstrates the value of releasing cutting-edge works.
Fri 21.11 + Sat 22.11 + Sun 23.11 12:00-18:00
Exhibition
With Artists’ Comics, curator Bill Kartalopoulos offers a fresh perspective on comics as an art form. The exhibition explores the space where comics meet fine arts with work by a.o. Keith Haring, Raymond Pettibon and Joe Brainard. These experimental voices embrace comics’ elements by design or chance, and reveal the medium’s richness and versatility.
Ekta is a true jack-of-all-trades. His work exudes boldness and spans drawing, collage, painting, sculpture, textiles, and mural work, as well as animation, performance, installation, and music. Ekta is always exploring new materials and visual languages, treating failure as a way to learn. He merges abstraction, symbols, and silhouettes into a distinctive style that challenges […]
Yûichi Yokoyama rose to prominence in the early 2000s with his groundbreaking neo-manga. Mysterious, genderless figures move around in meticulously constructed, often violent sequences. His work is less narrative than an exploration of rhythm and action, defying comics conventions. At Grafixx, Éditions Matière and Lagon present a selection of his paintings, collages, and sketches.
In Orchid Puppy, Juliane Noll explores the entanglement between urban environment and nature. She follows the journey of a woman who is secretly a biologist, and a hair stylist for theatre. In this parallel version of Antwerp, plants imitate people, and people take on botanical traits.
In 2 x 500, 500 collages by Eva Vermeiren enter into a dialogue with 500 drawings by Liesbeth Van Heuverswijn. Working within an agreed format for the past couple of years, the artists created an intense visual exchange. The publication, released by INFINITIF, is the foundation for an exhibition focused on rhythm, repetition, and variation.
The works of Begoña García-Alén move freely between comics, architecture, and visual art. She sees everyday life and urban landscapes through a poetic, graphic lens. Her work explores the relationship between people and their surroundings, and the flow of movement and time. By playing with these elements, each piece tells a story that feels both […]
Sun 23.11 13:00-13:30 & 15:00-15:30
Reading corner, Micrografixx
Amid sparkling sequins and a dash of theatrical delight, drag queen Veronika Deneuve invites young and old alike in a cosy nest of stories. Behind her dazzling alter ego is Sam De Mol, a beloved figure of the Belgian drag scene. With a gentle voice and a touch of glitter, she brings the most enchanting […]
AtelierKamiano is a warm, creative space for people who are often overlooked. At Antwerp’s Kamiano day shelter, participants find inspiration and breathing room to express themselves. They discover new talents and grow in confidence, while the joy of creating takes centre stage. Every two years, their work is showcased in an exhibition, making art a […]
Cartoonist Nadine Redlich first gained attention with Ambient Comics, published by Rotopol. Most recently, she released Doing the Work, which reflects on the struggles of everyday life. Her cartoons and comics are marked by a minimalist visual language, sharp humour, and emotional depth. This distinctive style appears not only in her books but also across […]
Workshop
Step into the world of BOEM, the magazine that focuses on illustration as an autonomous art form. Together with the BOEM team, create a one-of-a-kind edition inspired by the Grafixx theme signs. Experiment with monotype printing, and compile several contributions into an exclusive printed zine: yours to take home the very same day, as a […]
Together with the participants of AtelierKamiano, Maureen Pieters created vibrant designs that will come alive during the festival. Experiment with these artworks and, under her guidance, learn how to screen print onto paper and fabric, turning imagination into bold, tangible prints.
Create powerful mixed-media portraits of overlooked heroines. Step into their minds, capture their raw strength, and merge figurative and abstract elements into a personal manifesto on cardboard. You’ll dive into this creative journey guided by Erika Cotteleer, whose raw and confrontational drawings often feature women unapologetically claiming their space. Women’s business/Businesswomen – 9 generations […]
Fynn van der Ziel animates films and draws, fascinated by absurd stories and everyday phenomena. His risographed books and videos feature fish markets, talking flowers, earthquakes, and badminton — always ending in a playful twist. His graduation project, De Denkrimpel van Broeder Roeland, is a 66-page visual tale about a lyrical writer on a doomed […]
For her graduation project, Ilja van den Broeck created a graphic narrative about her twin brother, who lives with a severe disability. Her artistic practice often stems from personal experiences and observations, which she translates through pencil, pastel, paint, collage, and textiles. The result is a visual language that is both intimate and versatile.
With La Belle et la Bête, Tami Vera revisits the fairy tales that captivated her as a child. Based on the original story by Madame de Villeneuve, her work reflects on the position of a girl in relation to her surroundings. Nuance and everyday life flow into her imagery, with carefully chosen colors and details […]
For years, Rozenn Brécard captured the bustle of city life in her sketchbooks, until her move to Bretagne replaced crowds with rocks, moors, and coastal paths. She creates illustrations and picture books, using gouache and colored pencil to construct transparent, layered images. For Grafixx, she worked on a new publication that contrasts industrial and natural […]
In her gouache paintings, Hannah Depraetere explores the fragmented nature of traumatic memories. Time and space lose structure, drawing visitors into her unsettling scenes. This work originates from a need to dislodge, to flee, yet also to accept. The images are produced from a creative space between destruction and imagination.
Eve Drion combines autobiography with a love for the raw, the vague, and the imperfect. Her work often feels cathartic and is an attempt to process memories and wounds while exploring the meaning of love and connection. With gentle lines and a taste for imperfection, she creates an intimate, deeply personal visual language.
Fri 21.11 + Sat 22.11 + Sun 23.11
Micrografixx, Screening
In a world woven with symbols and hidden meanings, animated movies bring stories to life. Embark on a journey through ten animated shorts, each offering a colourful, child-friendly window into the festival’s theme, while two feature-length films breathe new life into a cherished Italian fairytale and an ancient Chinese legend, infusing them with fresh artistic […]
Screening
Settle into a cinema seat and let yourself be carried into a parallel universe of vibrant animated stories. Grafixx presents a sparkling selection of artistic short films, having invited submissions through an open call. From these, three winners will also be selected to temporarily feature in the pre-screening program at De Cinema after the festival.
For nearly fifteen years, the illustrations of Korneel Detailleur have appeared in books, newspapers, magazines, and exhibitions. His work is conceptually strong yet filled with emotion and vivid colours. Themes recur throughout, such as the human connection to the natural world, and a poetic approach to reality, giving the imagery a layered and timeless quality.
