The Institut Français and the Goethe-Institut, with the support of the Franco-German Cultural Fund, have launched a workshop for creating graphic novels. This European initiative is intended to encourage participating artists to try out new artistic practices for the graphic novel genre and develop them for the Vietnamese book market. The publishing grant for the project will be given to Nha Nam Culture and Communication Joint Stock Company (referred to as Nha Nam). Nha Nam provides each artist with eight to ten pages to publicize their story. The workshop will be accompanied for three months by graphic novel artists Robert Deutsch and Nicholas Sauge. UNESCO is supporting the project because it promotes the development of Hanoi's status as a City of Design.
Graphic novels belong to the literary genre of comics, but their more complex and comprehensive narratives make them comparable to novels. Unlike comics, graphic novels are usually based on autonomous stories and are detached from serial forms of publication. But just like novels, they can consist of several volumes...
With this background, the Institut Français and the Goethe-Institut invited applications to participate in a graphic novel workshop. From three dozen applications, 12 participants were selected. The featured speakers were Robert Deutsch from Germany and Nicolas Sauge from France. They shared their expertise and practical experience with the Vietnamese artists.
In cooperation with the Nhã Nam Culture and Communication Joint Stock Company (Nhã Nam), it quickly became clear that the planned publications should tell authentic stories. Considering the partnership with UNESCO, it was obvious that Vietnamese traditional cultural heritage would be the common thread of all the stories. The artists revived folk songs, myths, and legends in visual form and integrate these valuable narratives into the world of today's Vietnam.
In "Paper Realm" Tran Thu Ngan illustrates the importance of traditional Vietnamese handicrafts in the present and the past. Duong Huong Ly's graphic novel "Kitchen & Living Room" deals with the social obligations of a traditional Vietnamese wife, shedding light on the tension between implicitness and appreciation. Nguyen Thi Le addresses the contemporary conflict of pursuing traditions by using the example of the folk belief "Dao Mau". The artists use the genre of the graphic novel to make complex cultural content tangible in the form of graphic representations, creating a different approach to Vietnamese norms, values, and history.
Robert Deutsch is convinced that the artists "have a very prosperous future ahead of them." One participant lauds, "The workshop is a great asset to my view of the Vietnamese comics industry, and I'm especially grateful for the cross-cultural experience I've gained."
The artists and the two European cultural institutes are receptive to the continuation of such workshops. These workshops promote artistic exchange between Europe and Vietnam and enhance Hanoi's position as a City of Design.
Nhã Nam Publishing releases the anthology of completed works from the graphic novel workshop next year (2023).
Further information on the graphic novel project, biographies of the participants, interviews with the artists, and a selection of recommended graphic novels can be found on our website.
