Secret Identity – Community Comics and Cultural Identity
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-06-10

Magic Torch Comics work with schools and community groups to create comics which reinterpret intangible cultural heritage, promote visual literacy and even encourage community campaigning. This presentation will explore and discuss a number of our projects and publications, from adapting Gaelic songs and First World War diaries to creatively interpreting local archaeology and traditions. Comics have a proud history of sharing diverse voices, and this has perhaps never been more important than it is now. I will also discuss our more recent projects have worked to create comics with Syrian families and people over 65 at risk of social isolation in order to improve understanding and integration. Comics provide an engaging output to potentially reach new audiences, but it is in the creative process itself that the stories shared, reimagined and recreated can help develop vital new community connections and a sense of shared history.

Paul Bristow (Magic Torch Comics)

TAG Deva 2018
Session: Comics, Community and the Past