Danny Noble, Esther McManus, Jess Taylor, and Zara Slattery have been selected from a longlist of nominated comics artists as finalists for the first AFFA in Comics.
The recipient of the £10,000 award will be announced at the Arts Foundation Futures Awards on the 27th January at the ICA where all runners-up will also receive £1,000 awards towards their practice.
The award was judged by three revered comics artists Woodrow Phoenix, Hannah Berry and John Allison who said;
“The four finalists all draw from different schools of cartooning, but each exemplifies the greatest strength of good comics – the easy communication of complex ideas.”
Comics are easily one of the most vibrant and inventive areas of the arts in the UK today, with both the breadth of work produced and the forums created around growing exponentially over the last fifteen years. Talking about the award, Hannah Berry, comics laureate and a judge for this year ‘s award noted;
‘The medium is still woefully underrepresented in terms of funding and support, and limited opportunities mean that very rarely can creators afford to get a foothold and take their work to the next level. The Arts Foundation Fellowship is a crucial lifeline, offering not only the financial support artists need but the motivation of having such a prestigious organisation in their corner.’
The four finalists will be celebrated at the newly revamped Cartoon Museum in London. The AFFA in Comics 2020 will take over the ‘In-Focus’ section of the gallery from the 18th Oct – 1st Dec featuring both original and printed work. The public will have a chance to hear the talented finalists speak about their varied techniques and inspirations at a special event at midday on Saturday 19th October at the Museum. The event will be chaired by Comics Laureate Hannah Berry and will last until approximately 1.30pm.
Tickets to the talk are at a special rate of £5 and include access to the whole museum including the excellent Comics Creators, The Famous and the Forgotten curated by Steve Marchant.
Opening times: Tues-Sat 10.30-5.30, Sun 12-5.30 Closed on Mondays
New Cartoon Museum: 63 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London W1A 3AE