Deadline for applying: June 12 2023.

Link to the Open call (PDF)

Application form

Are you creating comics, zines, web comics, manga, or illustrations? Do you view comics as a medium to tell stories from a feminine perspective and reclaim the power of women? Are you unhappy with the way women are portrayed in mainstream comics and pop culture products, particularly in Southeastern Europe? Would you like to help change that perception?

If you’re interested in creating comics that challenge patriarchy, gender inequality, and other forms of social inequality, and would like to travel to meet other like-minded artists, then WOMCOM residency program is perfect for you.

Women Power in Comics (WOMCOM) invites you to create short comics during a series of residency programs, get feedback from mentors, be part of exhibitions, and join a creative regional network that promotes feminine voices and perspectives.

WOMCOM offers two residency programmes in 2023:

WOMCOM Residency in Novi Sad, Serbia

24 August–7 September 2023, Novi Sad, Serbia

Mentors: Jana Adamović Kordej and Dragana Garic Jovičić

WOMCOM Residency in Budapest and Balaton, Hungary

17 September–1 October 2023, Zánka (at Lake Balaton) and Budapest, Hungary

Mentors: Márton Hegedűs and Eszter Szép

More info about each residency programs: https://womcom.io/residencies/

Each residency includes travel costs (up to 200€), accommodation and food/per diems for a 2-week period. The comics are to be created during the residencies and will be exhibited, published in a printed anthology, and also published online on the WOMCOM digital platform.

You can apply if:

• you work in comics, manga, web comics, zines, illustration, graphic design or other visual fields;
• you are older than 18 years at the start of the chosen residency programme;
• you are a national of the following countries: Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia or Slovenia, or you are an EU national living in the listed countries;
• you are comfortable cooperating with others in English.

MORE

What is WOMCOM?

Women Power in Comics (WOMCOM) brings together partners from Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia with the goal of empowering female comic artists and addressing gender issues in the comics field.

The project lasts for two years (2023–2024) and includes:

• four 2-week residency programmes, conceived as co-working and co-creation spaces bringing together 12 residents each (the majority of them women) under the guidance and mentorship of renowned comic artists and curators. They’re to be held in Novi Sad (Serbia) and Zánka/Budapest (Hungary) in 2023, and in Budva (Montenegro) and Zagreb (Croatia) in 2024.
• A travelling exhibition presenting the works created during the residencies. The exhibition will be part of the following festivals: PesText Festival, Budapest; Tinta Comics Festival, Ljubljana; OHOHO Festival of Comics and Street Art, Zagreb; Novi Sad Comic Book Weekend, Novi Sad; Stripovanje Festival, Budva.

• Two international conferences within this project will create a ground to discuss, present examples of good practices and research in the field of female roles and image in comics Conferences will be held in Serbia, Novi Sad (2023) and Ljubljana (2024).

• A printed anthology of the works created during the residencies, to be published at the end of the two-year WOMCOM programme.
• The WOMCOM Digital Platform, developed for and with artists to communicate the project results and to become a referential repository for comic artists from the participating countries.

Partners: Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Institution Student Cultural Centre of Novi Sad (SKCNS), Novi Sad, Serbia; Bakelit Multi Art Center, Budapest, Hungary; AKC Attack, Zagreb, Croatia; PostScriptum, Athens, Greece; Association for Comic Affirmation, Budva, Montenegro.
The project is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission.

womcom.io | Facebook | Instagram