The Falmouth 24hr Comic Event created on 24 November

The Falmouth 24hr Comic is a unique event taking place at The Poly in Falmouth on Tuesday 24 November, when a group of illustrators will challenge themselves to create a twenty-four-page comic each, over a twenty-four-hour period. Throughout the day on Tuesday, visitors will be able to see the artists working, view the results and have a go at creating their own timed comic.

The 24hr Comic idea was the brainchild of American cartoonist, Scott McCloud, in 1990 and the challenge has since been taken up by thousands of professional and amateur artists worldwide. Organised by three recent University College Falmouth (UCF) graduates, Tom Sharpe, Phil Rushworth and Cally Gibson, the Falmouth 24hr Comic will be the first major incarnation of this project in Cornwall.

Tom Sharpe graduated in 2008 from UCF with an MA in Professional Writing from UCF and works as a musician, writer and freelance illustrator; Phil Rushworth graduated this year with an MA in Curatorial Studies and has since been working on arts projects in Cornwall, whilst Cally Gibson graduated in 2008 with a BA(Hons) in Illustration and works as a freelance illustrator.

The artists taking part are not allowed to prepare any work before the event ensuring that The Falmouth 24hr comic, is inspired entirely by the story they will be given on the day about Falmouth. The participants will have to think on their feet and push themselves to the limit in order to produce their comic. In the words of organiser, Tom Sharpe: "The intense twenty four hour time frame will challenge the artists' routines, forcing them to pick apart their normal creative processes and dig deep into their psyche to access skills they might not even know they have."

The event is an opportunity for the community to interact with local artists and illustrators, giving a unique ‘behind the scenes' insight into how they create their work. The pressure of the challenge, and the hours they will be working, means the final product could be very different from anything they've produced before.

As well as being able to view the comic pages as they are produced, visitors will be able to challenge themselves to produce their own timed comic from 10am until 10.30pm on Tuesday 24 November. There will be space and materials provided and everyone is welcome to take part and discover for themselves what challenges the artists face. All of the results will be displayed at The Poly and could even make it onto The Falmouth 24hr Comic blog.

The Falmouth 24hr Comic is funded by FEAST, a new programme to make great art happen in Cornish villages and towns. Their main focus is to bring communities together to take part in creative activities. FEAST's Jack Morrison explains: "We are looking for projects that stir the imagination and allow communities to enjoy the arts on their own terms. This is an exciting proposal that will be creatively and physically challenging for the artists involved and whose outcomes will give a series of unique interpretations of a local story." He continued: "We are very pleased to be involved with an event that brings a fresh way of working and illuminates the art of the comic in Falmouth."

The Falmouth 24hr Comic challenge begins at 10.30am in the Daniell Room at The Poly, Falmouth on Tuesday 24 November, finishing at 10.30am on Wednesday 25 November. The event is open to the public until 10.30pm on Tuesday. The exhibition of final work is open until Saturday 28 November 2009 from 10am to 5pm with a follow up exhibition at The Soup Gallery, Truro in December. Admission is free.

For further information and updates visit: thefalmouth24hrcomic.blogspot.com

For further information about BA(Hons) Illustration, MA Curatorial Practice and MA Professional Writing at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/illustration, www.falmouth.ac.uk/curatorialpractice or www.falmouth.ac.uk/professionalwriting, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213730.

ENDS

For further information about Falmouth24hr Comic and images, please contact Phil Rushworth on 07971 692738, email, phil.k.rushworth@googlemail.com or visit the blog at http://thefalmouth24hrcomic.blogspot.com/

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email: jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

For further information about FEAST, please contact Jane Pugh or Jack Morrison, Telephone 01209 218826, or email feast@actcornwall.org.uk

FEAST is a two year journey that harnesses the many talents and energies of Cornwall's artists and communities. It's finding new ways to stir imaginations and spark inspirational events right across our rural region. At the end of this journey the project wants creative and cultural activity to be seen, and invested in, as part of the very fabric of healthy and dynamic communities.

Investment for FEAST comes principally from Arts Council England and it is managed by the Creative Services, Cornwall Council.
www.cornwallculture.com/feast

The Poly, formally Falmouth Arts Centre, is a registered charity owned and run by the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, which was founded in Falmouth in 1833. The centre's charitable purpose is "to provide support and encouragement for young people and the better communication of new ideas, innovation and enterprise in the fields of science and art especially in relation to Cornwall." The Poly presents a diverse programme of performance, film and visual art.
http://www.thepoly.org/

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name. It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012/2013 that will be unique to the South West.

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.
http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/

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