Exhibition to herald ‘Year of Comic Strips’ in Jordan

AMMAN — The Spanish embassy, the Instituto Cervantes, the French Institute of Jordan and the Embassy of Belgium have announced that they will celebrate the “Year of Comic Strips” in the coming months by paying tribute to those who brought it to life. 

The Ninth Art, as the French and Belgians define comic strips, is an “art at the crossroad between literature and visual arts”, said the Spanish embassy in a statement. 

“Although often seen as a popular medium of expression, the Ninth Art contributes to the democratisation of art”, the statement said. 

Through the exhibitions, the organisers aim to create a cultural dialogue between comic-strip artists from Jordan and abroad, “highlighting once again the cultural cooperation between Europe and Jordan”. 

The European partners have collaborated with Jordanian comic artist and illustrator Mike V. Derderian to organise the various activities.

The Spanish embassy and the Instituto Cervantes in Amman are setting up a panoramic exhibition of artworks by Spanish comic artist Paco Roca titled “Memory vs. Oblivion”, funded by the Delegation of the European Union in Jordan through the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Jordan.

The exhibition will showcase a selection of the artist’s main works and will be on display at the exhibitions hall of the Instituto Cervantes from November 23 until February 2. 

The organisers added that the entrance will be free of charge and safety and sanitary measures will be put in place. 

Paco Roca will be holding an online panel on November 29 via the Zoom platform. The talk will be in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic. Those interested should register by sending an email to: cenamm@cervantes.es.

“If there is a recurring theme in my comics is that of the memory. I always go back to that again and again. Throughout the talk I will try to explain that this continuous glance at the past is for me a need to find my identity, whether as a cartoonist, as a member of a peculiar society such as Spain or simply as my family heritage,” Roca was quoted in the statement as saying. 

Roca was born in Valencia in 1969. He has won several awards in different countries for his work.

Some of his comics have been adapted into films, such as “Arrugas” (Wrinkles), directed by Ignacio Ferreras in 2011, which won the Goya Award for the best animated film and the best adapted screenplay.