Tripwire Talks To LICAF Festival Director Julie Tait

A UK Angouleme

With its latest show coming later this month, Tripwire just spoke to LICAF festival director Julie Tait to discuss how the show has evolved and adapted to a changing comics event landscape…

TRIPWIRE: What was the genesis of the show?

JULIE TAIT: LICAF launched in 2013, but plans for it began earlier. It started with my son’s interest in comics, my own background in events organisation, and just exploded from there, boosted by support from the likes of Bryan and Mary Talbot, Sean Phillips and many other comic creators, and interest from a wide range of public funding bodies and commercial comic organisations that has continued to this day.

TW: How has the show evolved since its first year?

JT: Enormously! We’ve got connections across the globe now, reflected in our guest lineup, which always includes many creators who simply would not be visiting Britian without our funding model. Beyond the Festival we have projects with local, national and international partners and we have extended our web presence beyond the Festival site to make use of the Comics Can Change the World branding we created a few years back (https://comicscanchangetheworld.com), to highlight that work.

It’s constantly evolving, especially this year with the introduction of the International Rights Market, which will put British publishers and creators in the same room with a range of international publishers, a development backed by support from the Arts Council. Think of it as the start of a “British Angouleme” – which the Festival has always been modelled on – and you should immediately get what we’re aiming for.

TW: What is the show’s specific remit?

JT:The Festival’s remit is to showcase the wonderful world of comics and, from 2024, to look at developing the business of comics in the UK via an international rights market and more. Our year-round programme is about demonstrating how “comics can change the world’ through programmes exploring literacy in comics and international collaborations and more.

TW: How did you weather the two years that Covid affected live comic events?

JT: Although COVID was a setback, we had considerable success with our LICAF LIVE events and continued to develop our international projects across the globe. The success of LICAF LIVE has encouraged us to look at live casting some events, just as other Festivals and Comic Cons do, but we have to be mindful of the costs involved, and the technical issues involved!

TW: How has the UK convention landscape changed over the past few years?

JT: There are many more events than there used to be and there’s been a “bounce back” from the pandemic which is terrific. We’re working together more, I think – we had a gathering of convention organisers at last year’s Festival to discuss how we could work together, and that, for example, has led to us sharing our Palestinian comic art exhibition with Thought Bubble, which is a marvellous development, and there are more things like that in the works.

It’s great to see more comic creators getting the spotlight they deserve at bigger events like London Film and Comic Con, for example, a welcome development led by Tony Lee, but that there are a lot of comic-focused events now, beyond those calling themselves “Comic Cons” with no comic presence whatsover. TBC, coming up soon in Bedford, and Thought Bubble among them, as well as ourselves.

TW: How do you continue to adapt to keep your show commercially viable in a sometimes fluid and changing environment?

JT:  Outside of the Festival, our working weeks do sometimes feel that we’re in a constant round of funding applications and meetings, but that work has paid off, I think, and we’ve helped put comics as a medium in the spotlight, alongside other arts, which I think is a very positive thing.

TW: What are the greatest challenges for you as a show organiser?

JT: Rising costs! Ensuring a diverse guest list and audience, despite this challenge.

TW:  What aspects of your 2024 show are you most proud you have pulled off this year?

JT: Representation from 28 countries, a new rights market (which has been complicated and detailed) and more involvement from the local community

TW: If someone was going to set up a new UK comic convention, festival or event now, what are the three essential pieces of advice you would offer them?

JT: Involve people who know how to run events – not just comic events; make sure you foster and appreciate local support and interest; never forget comic fans may not know the creator behind their favourite character , so you have to ensure you promote what they do as well as who they are.

TW: How would you describe your show in one pithy sentence?

Expect the unexpected in a beautiful part of Britain!

• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere Friday 27th – Sunday 29th September 2024 | Ticket details here

• The Lakes International Comic Art Festival is online at: comicartfestival.com