comiXculture is a project of Next Page Foundation conducted in two parts between 2008 - 2010.

The first edition of comiXculture is carried out under the motto Comixes against racism. A key point in the initiative is to bring into play the art genres of comix, graphic novels and multiple-choice (game) books as means for tackling social-political issues. 

We believe that the genre of comix has always been posing a challenge towards social inertia and clichés, racist stereotypes included. Comix can deal with politically sensitive issues in a particularly convincing manner. They do so, among others, by centering their stories on characters of diverse racial, ethnic or cultural background, placing their stories in a multicultural environment or basing their works on real life experiences and sensitivities of ethnically different personages.

As part of the project Next Page has:

• Organized a training workshop on comix creation for 22 young comix talents with two UK trainers;
• Curted and published a collection of comix stories on the topic of differences including nine contemporary comix authors from Bulgaria;
• Translated and adaptated for Bulgarian the multiple-choice book The Gypsies. A Labyrinth by Peter Kardos and Gabor Nyari.

comiXculture II is a project hunting for a different approach to differences. It aims at employing the genre's distinctive combination of drawings and words to tell the real stories of people who are easily labeled as different, pushed to the margins of society or simply ignored because of their ethnicity, culture, religion or sexuality.

comiXculture II has gathered renowned comiX artists, with backgrounds in socially engaged projects from all around Eastern Europe and from Lebanon who facilitated joint workshops. As part of their collaboration they experienced personally unusual cultural contexts: the East European artists went to Beirut and the Lebanese illustrators visited Sofia. In the final stage of the project the comiX artists were drawing comiX that discussed issues such as diversity, exploring senses of belonging or never fitting in, crossing cultural borders, facing prejudices and discrimination.

Watch the trailer about comiXculture II project here