HK Comic Artists : The French Connection
Hong Kong Comics Artists on the International Stage
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The Angoulême International Comics Festival（安古蘭國際漫畫節）, the third-largest comics event in the world, has since its inception provided an open and diversified platform that has nurtured countless outstanding creative talents, making it a sought-after venue for Comic, BD (Bandes Dessinées), Manga, Graphic Novels fans.
Its importance lies not only in the ability of bringing together comic talents from around the world, but also the contribution
to the evolution of genre by showcasing emerging authors and providing a platform for diverse comic styles.
In 2022 and 2023, 15 Hong Kong artists published their work under the support of Hong
Kong Comics Support Programme
(HKCSP 港漫動力)
organized by Comix Home Base（動漫基地）
– Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC); and 7 of them were invited tothe
Angoulême Festival in last January.
A year after, we are grateful to have two of the artists – Mimi Szeto（司徒恩翹）and
Chi-kit Kwong（鄺志傑）– to
share with us some behind-the-scenes stories of their jouney to Angoulême and their creative journey.
M. Gordon Lo, Senior Programme Manager of HKAC will be present too.
A panel animated by David Cordina and Irwin Wong, from Alliance Française Hong Kong.
About the Artist: Mimi SZETO
Growing up in her mother's art studio, Mimi has been deeply immersed to art since childhood. After being exposed to Japanese
animation culture,
she began to learn digital drawing in secondary school. Upon completing her study in the UK, she has been involved in various types of art
work, including book illustration, comic book serialization, and advertisement storyboard drawing. She also regularly publishes her
personal works and shares her self-learning experience on social media.
Published in 2022, her magnum opus A Little Step（一步的距離） is based on Mimi’s life. The story is about how two secondary school students – one who loves drawing and another who loves music – encourage each other to take the first step in chasing their dreams. This comic won her the Bronze Award of HKCSP that year.
Mimi's personal website: https://www.szetomimi.com/
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Born in Hong Kong, Chi-kit is passionate in drawing since childhood. After completing his BFA and MFA in the US, he entered the advertizing field during the initial phase of his career. In 2009, he returned to Hong Kong and decided to shift his focus towards illustration and art teaching.
His relationship with Hong Kong comics can be traced back to his young age when his comic was published in the local magazine Breakthrough Junior. After many years, he rejoined the comic industry with his original work The Architect's Epiphany（焚城戰譜） , which was awarded the Silver Award and the Best Character Design Award of the first HKCSP. Later on, his work Indigo（靛藍）was again awarded the Gold Award of the same scheme. The above two sets of adventure-themed works have been officially licensed in French and Malay.
About Comix Home Base
Since 2006, Comix Home Base – Hong Kong Arts Centre has been organizing activities to promote local comic artists and culture to overseas audience. With the support of Create HK Funding Scheme, the Centre has brought over 50 Hong Kong comic artists and industry professionals to Angoulême, the "Mecca of International Comics", to participate in the exhibition.
