Adventures in Publishing explores the tradition of comic art in the Balkans
Serbian Canadian cartoonist Ivana Filipovich will guide attendees through the history of comics from the ex-Yugoslav region
Art by Ivana Filipovich. (Submitted)
Exploring the history of comics in the Balkans, with a focus on Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia, will be the theme of Adventures in Publishing, a free event set to take place on Feb. 19 at The Post at 750 in downtown Vancouver.
Hosted by Alcuin Society, a non-profit association that promotes book arts like typography, calligraphy, and illustration, the event will be led by Serbian Canadian cartoonist and illustrator Ivana Filipovich.
Filipovich plans to introduce attendees to the history of comics from the ex-Yugoslav region, including communist propaganda comics, and discuss modern creators and how they merge comics with other types of art.
“One of the most interesting segments of this talk will be about breaking boundaries and experimentation, crossing into fine arts,” Filipovich wrote in the email statement to The Runner.
“Not only do artists use traditional and digital tools to create comics, but they also utilize found materials, assemblage, tapestry, and performance art. I want to inspire the audience to think outside the box that comics and illustrations are usually assigned to.”
Filipovich had the opportunity to work as a professional illustrator while being an architecture student. Her first professional work was on technical documentation for archaeology purposes. As a student, she also worked on a blockbuster exhibition about the Iron Age in Serbia for the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Belgrade.
After coming to Canada, she worked at Simon Fraser University’s Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, helping to create immersive educational media websites, which received awards for educational content.
The comics Filipovich used to read often lacked strong female characters who were not sexualized or carbon copies of each other, which continues to bother her today.
“Rather than waiting for someone else to do something, I started making comics myself.”
Humour is a trait that makes Balkan comic art unique as it has been used as a coping mechanism and a way to poke fun, Filipovich wrote.
“A headstrong attitude is typical. People often say that if you tell us there is a boundary, we will immediately try to cross it,” Filipovich wrote, adding this could be because of centuries of oppression, and people will always find a way to rebel.
“There are currently massive student-led protests in Serbia. The main ingredients in the protest are irreverence and humour. The same applies to comic art.”
The Balkan region also provides quality art education at applied art schools and holds many cultural events and exhibits, Filipovich wrote.
“People do not realize that Croatia and Serbia, especially, are powerhouses of independent comics,” she wrote.
“I participated in only four comic art exhibitions in North America in over 20 years here, and I had my art in over 10 exhibitions just in 2024 in the Balkans and other parts of Europe.”
Due to the reliance on social media, which is built on algorithms, North American or Manga comic art styles are more heavily consumed, and as a result, people may not find an opportunity to discover foreign arts.
“I find North America strangely insular. We don’t even know what’s up in Quebec, let alone in some foreign country,” Filipovich wrote.
“The truth is, there are areas flourishing outside of the known centres of comic arts. The Dutch comic art magazine Stripgids recently presented the art of Serbian creators, and I quote: ‘…Serbia is a country where, as far as comics go, there is still much to experience.’”
To learn more about Adventures in Publishing, which takes place from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, and to register for the event, visit Eventbrite.
