REVEAL! Women’s Comics East Africa-UK
This LDComics strand of activity is supported by a significant British Council International Collaboration award. REVEAL! is a partnership between graphic novelist, comics scholar Dr Nicola Streeten, director UK LDComics CIC and artist, arts journalist Msanii Kimani wa Wanjiru, director of Kymsnet Media Network, Kenya. http://www.kimaniwawanjiru.wordpress.com
REVEAL! will spotlight the historical and contemporary status of women comic artists in the UK and four East African countries Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and UK artists with family heritage in this region. This will interrogate a masculine history of comics in the UK and East Africa and contribute to wider cross-cultural recognition of women’s experiences historically and currently.
REVEAL! will celebrate women’s responses through comics to ideas around gender identity located within existing histories. Participants will contemporize activity through reflection of Climate Change impact on experiences, especially those living with disability and within marginalized communities
THE 3 STAGES OF REVEAL! ACTIVITY
STAGE 1
May-July 2022 REVEAL! WOMEN’S COMICS COMPETITON OPEN
The competition is open to self-identifying women or non-binary artists.
There are 2 categories for the competition
Category 1: Open to women in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
There will be five East African finalists selected from this category; two from Kenya, one from Rwanda, one from Tanzania and one from Uganda
Category 2: Open to UK based women with family heritage in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda
There will be four finalists selected from this category
There will be five judges and a total of nine finalists will be selected
STAGE 2 August 2022
REVEAL! FINALISTS’ ONLINE RESIDENCY
Each finalist will receive a fee to participate in a 4-day online workshop and to develop their own projects. They will present their outcomes at two one day symposiums in September (UK) and October (Kenya) for a public audience.
STAGE 3 September – October 2022
REVEAL! Festivals
September: A one day UK Festival will be hosted by both facilitators: Dr Nicola Streeten and Msanii Kimani wa Wanjiru UK (venue and date tbc) for a public audience. The four UK finalists will be present to disseminate the development of their projects. The five East African finalists will present online.
October: A one day Kenya Festival will be hosted by both facilitators: Msanii Kimani wa Wanjiru and Dr Nicola Streeten in Nairobi (venue and date tbc) for a public audience. The five East African finalists will be present to disseminate the development of their projects. The four UK finalists will present online.
REVEAL! KEY DATES
THE AWARDS
There will be two categories in the REVEAL! competition
Category 1: REVEAL! Women’s Comics East Africa
open to women in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda
There will be 5 East African finalists selected from this category 2 from Kenya, 1 Rwanda, 1 Tanzania, 1 Uganda
Each East African award winner will receive £2500 to participate in an online residency and receive mentoring towards developing their project.
Category 2: REVEAL! Women’s Comics UK
open to UK based women with family heritage in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania or Uganda.
There will be 4 finalists selected from this category.
Each UK award winner will receive £2500 to participate in an online residency and receive mentoring towards developing the project.
REVEAL! BRIEF
LDComics’ interest has always been in the drama of the everyday and the autobiographical.
REVEAL! in partnership with Kymsnet Media Network takes a global view to reflect on the intersection of gender and environment.
Thematic Concerns
Our preference is for work that reflects on Climate Change and its impact on experiences, especially for those living with disability and within marginalized communities.
We are looking for original and innovative works, that stretch definitions of the comics form as well as the subject matter.
ELIGIBILITY UK
Open to anyone based in the UK who self-identifies as female and has family heritage in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda,
Entries must not have been previously published (self published works are eligible)Online entries received after the deadline of midnight on 15 July 2022 will not be considered
PDF of comics works
must be submitted via a link which must be included in the formEntries must be submitted via the website, by completing the online form by midnight 15 July 2022 AND a printed copy must be received by 31 July 2022
Physical entries should be posted to
The Grange,
The Street,
Great Cressingham, Thetford,
Norfolk IP25 6NL
ELIGIBILITY EAST AFRICA
Open to anyone based in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, who self-identifies as female including non-binary and trans.
Entries must not have been previously published (self published works are eligible)
Online entries received after the deadline of midnight on 15 July 2022 will not be considered
PDF of comics works must be submitted via a link which must be included in the form
Entries must be submitted via the website, by completing the online form by midnight 15 July 2022 AND a printed copy must be received by 31 July 2022
Physical entries should be posted to
Msanii Kimani Wa Wanjiru
KYMSNET MEDIA NETWORK LTD
P. O. Box 18203,
Nairobi 00100,
Kenya, Africa
WHY ENTER?
ALL ENTRIES to the competition will:
Have their printed entry included in the display of all the entries received in East Africa and UK. This will be exhibited for a public audience on 26 September 2022 at the REVEAL! Symposium day, UK and 8 October 2022 at the REVEAL! symposium day, Kenya.
Receive invitations to the VIP symposium events
Everyone is a winner!
The judging panel is made up of five invited women from East Africa and the UK. The judges have been carefully selected to represent a range of interests and varying knowledge of the graphic novel form, cartoons and comics.
THE JUDGES
There will be five judges from East Africa and the UK. Details will be uploaded in due course.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
- Please read the guidelines information sheet carefully HERE
For your entry to be eligible for final consideration, both digital and printed copies must be submitted by the stated deadlines. The digital version is for judges. The printed version will be exhibition purposes during REVEAL! symposiums in London and Kenya
For all queries please email revealcomicsteam@gmail.com
Submissions should be 12 pages of comics work, including the cover. This can be a selection of short comics, one panel cartoons and/or part of a longer graphic novel in progress. This should be submitted digitally as one single PDF file.
Your PDF submission must be submitted via a link (for example to drop box, wetransfer or equivalent) which must be included in the form
Entries must be submitted via the website LDComics.org, by completing the online form by 15 July 2022. Online entries received after the deadline of 12 midnight on 15 July 2020 will not be considered
To be eligible for receipt of the award a printed copy must also be received by 31 July 2022
As part of the submission you will be asked for a 50 word description of your work
HOW TO ENTER
Entries are only eligible when submitted via this website.
PLEASE NOTE
You will be invited to submit your information into boxes and then to click add to cart. There is no fee to submit your entry, but it will be processed in this way. Please click on your “cart” once completed and finally click “checkout” to complete your submission.
Should you encounter any problems or have any questions after reading the information on this page,
please email
UK QUESTIONS nicolastreeten@yahoo.com
EAST AFRICA QUESTIONS msaniikimaniwawanjiru@gmail.com
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If your question is still unanswered, please email revealcomicsteam@gmail.com
What do you mean by “woman”?
We welcome entries from people who self-identify as female, including trans and non-binary people.
What do you mean by “comic”?
Our definition of comic is loose and is based on work that combines text and image (though this is not exclusively necessary). The brief is open to your interpretation and we will celebrate innovation in the approach to the form and to the subject.
However, we do require that your entry is printable in zine (booklet) form.
I have not printed my work before, is there any advice you can give me on this?
We will be hosting 2 online workshops to go through the brief as well as how to approach printing. The dates to be confirmed.
We have a small number of bursaries available to support printing costs for East African submissions. Please email us.
I have a publishing contract for my work, but it hasn’t been published yet, can I enter?
No, sorry.
Can I enter if I am a student?
Yes, the competition is open to everyone who identifies as female and is based in the UK.
I do not consider myself British, but I live in the UK, can I enter?
Yes, if your main place of residence is the UK, you are eligible to enter.
I have a short story comic, can I enter?
Yes, we are accepting entries of 12 pages that can include a mix of cartoons, comics, or the start of a longer graphic novel. We are interested in your ideas, your response to the subject as well as the style.
My work is a collaboration, can I enter?
Yes, on the understanding that should the work receive an award, this must be shared between the collaborators
