Last Night on Earth comics presented at CAWCUS Caucasian Comics & Zines Festival
The CAWCUS Caucasian Comics and Zine Festival took place in Yerevan on June 25-29, and among its events was the presentation of the Visual Stories from Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine project, funded by the EU Creative Europe Program.
The event was attended by Arevik Ashkharoyan, director of the ARI Literature Foundation, one of the members of the consortium implementing the project, Astghik Harutyunyan, illustrator of Armenian story in the comic, and Luka Lashkhi, illustrator of Georgian story.
The final product of the project is a comic book featuring graphic stories by female authors from the project’s participating countries. The stories present a female perspective on war, their role, and the impact of wars on their lives.
As the project coordinator, Arevik Ashkharoyan spoke about the project’s concept, process, and challenges encountered during its implementation. And the illustrators talked about the process of work and creative approaches to portraying stories.
Astghik Harutyunyan told how she worked on the story of Armenian author Ani Asatryan, what artistic and visual solutions she sought to show the drama of the story and the experiences of a woman in wartime. She emphasized that graphic language allows her to convey emotions that sometimes remain beyond words.
Luka Lashkhi also presented his work on Georgian story, telling how he tried to combine documentary elements with fiction, creating a comic that not only informs, but also moves and gives food for thought. He noted that graphic stories can be a powerful tool for preserving memory and conveying stories.
At the end of the event, attendees had the opportunity to view preliminary versions of the comic pages, interact with the authors, and express their opinions. The project participants emphasized that the creation of this book was not only a creative but also a deeply personal journey – an attempt to address women’s stories that have been heard or not yet heard.
Համաֆինանսավորվում է Եվրոպական միության կողմից։ Արտահայտված կարծիքները հեղինանկներինն են։ Եվրոպական միությունը ոչ միայն կարող է չկիսել այդ կարծիքները այլ չի կրում պատասխանատվություն դրանց համար։
