PIETER GAUDESABOOS x SAM VANBELLE

The characters of children’s book illustrator Pieter Gaudesaboos (Klein boek met een hart) and designer-illustrator Sam Vanbelle (Weekend Knack, De Tijd, Stad Antwerpen) cannot and do not want to be pigeonholed. How do the authors deal with gender in their work, and what meaning does queerness have for them as artists? In what ways do these themes sneak into what they make, and when do they just consciously push it?

THÉ TJONG-KHING

Thé Tjong-Khing, the Dutch artist of Chinese-Javanese descent, is perhaps best known for the many children’s books he illustrated, including Kleine Sofie en Lange Wapper, Vos en Haas and Waar is de taart. During his long career, together with Lo Hartog van Banda, he also created extraordinary comics, such as the socially engaged Arman & Ilva and the still relevant Iris, about identity and image. In this interview, we find out more about his origins and sources of inspiration.

JUDITH VANISTENDAEL

Judith Vanistendael made her debut with De maagd en de neger, a controversial and autobiographical comic book about an interracial love affair. After that, she did not shy away from difficult subjects either: cancer (Toen David zijn stem verloor), war (Penelope) and the impact of violence (Mikel) have already passed in review. In this lecture, Vanistendael specifically discusses how working in a male comic world inspires her to create strong female characters.