Captain China In Finland!
Earlier this year, I was contacted by Mr. Petri Kittilä, a representative of the Arctic Comics Centre in Kemi, Finland. He told me he found Captain China while doing research on Chinese comic books and characters. He wanted to know if I’d be interested in providing him with some artwork of Captain China so he may exhibit it at the Arctic Comic Centre. I was pretty surprised by his offer and thought it was a real honor to receive such a unique invitation, so I whole heartily agreed to it. What came about a couple of months later was an even bigger surprise to me.
As you can see from the photo, it is an absolutely stunning display. To see your own creation treated with such respect and appreciation it is quite emotional. I was truly blown away by how nice of a job they did with the exhibition.
The Captain China Exhibition is on display right now at the Arctic Comics Centre in Kemi, Finland, Please go pay them a visit if you are in Finland. I also received an invitation as the main guest and speaker for the 2017 Arctic Comics Festival, which I will definitely be attending. So I do hope to see many of you comic fans there at the show!
Arctic Comics Center in Kemi
The Arctic Comics Center in Kemi is a small but well-known Finnish cultural society that organizes annual Arctic Comics Festivals, produces exhibitions, does publishing, and contributes to comics in various ways. The Arctic Comics Center has its own comic and cartoon exhibition in Kemi. The opening of this permanent exhibition was held in April 2015, and some of the items on display have been previously seen in many short-time exhibitions around Finland. The exhibition consists of, among other things, original artworks from over 20 Finnish and foreign comic artists, and more than 40 three-dimensional cartoon figure statues. These statues were made with the kind cooperation of art students from Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences.
The group has organized The Arctic Comics Festivals annually since 1981, and it became international in 1985. So far, more than sixty well-known illustrators, critics, and researchers from all over the world have visited the world’s northernmost comics festival. This annual event (usually held every year in October) is supported by Kemi town and the Ministry of Education. The President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen, acted as a patron at the 20th anniversary festival in 2001. She also visited The Comics Centre in autumn 2002.
For more information, please visit the official Arctic Comic Centre in Kemi website:
keminsarjakuvakeskus.weebly.com