Nordic and Baltic comics exhibition opens at Estonian Academy of Arts

An exhibition bringing together 16 Nordic and Baltic comics artists has opened at the Estonian Academy of Arts, ERR reported. Titled Mythbústers, the exhibition presents the artists’ views of life in the region.

Artist Liisa Kruusmägi, one of the exhibitors, said the Estonian comics scene had a hopeful outlook. She said comics were well suited to exhibition format because they allowed people who do not usually read comics to become familiar with the medium.

The works were published late last year in a Latvian comics magazine. The exhibition has since toured several countries and will move from the Estonian Academy of Arts to Helsinki at the end of September.

Kruusmägi said Estonia had the prominent comics artist Joonas Sildre, whose work had been widely published and translated, with books available in English in bookstores. She said more comics could be produced and encouraged people to create them.

She said the Estonian Academy of Arts had offered comics courses over the years and expressed hope that the field would continue to develop. Kruusmägi said she had contributed to a comics magazine several times and published some work herself. She would also like to publish a graphic novel, but considers it difficult because it requires strong writing skills.