NS: Nearly 400 Artists Threaten to Boycott Angoulême Festival

[cygnia]

https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2025/08/03/nearly-400-artists-boycott-angouleme-festival/

Nearly 400 artists and 12 associations are signatories to a petition threatening to boycott the 2026 Angoulême International Comics Festival. The petition accuses the festival’s contracted management company, 9eArt+, of retaliating against a female employee who reported a rape at the 2024 event and criticizes the festival’s organizers (FIBD) for not only resisting efforts to replace 9eArt+ but is considering a merger with the company. The signatories state that if FIBD does not open the management contract to an open RFP, they will call for a “massive boycott” of the next festival to be held in January 2026.

Signatories include four of the last five Grand prix winners: Anouk Ricard (2025), Posy Simmonds (2024), Julie Doucet (2022), Chris Ware (2021), as well as notable American cartoonists: Art Spiegelman (Grand prix 2011) and Alison Bechdel. You can see the full list of associations, and signatories artists on MesOpinions. Additionally, at the time of this writing, 2,322 other individuals have signed the petition.

Comments

[superfangirl1]

I hope everything goes well with the boycott and succeeds their goal.