Category: feature

In the article “Comics become mouthpieces for the persecuted” published by Frankfurter Allgemeine on June 8, 2025, Alexandr Jurgs reflects upon the design and impact of the exhibition that brings together the work of four internationally acclaimed artists teeling about persecution and history. As emphasized by Jurgs, the exhibition in Wiesbaden, displaying graphic narratives by Hannah Brinkmann, Tobi Dahmen, Nora Krug and Birgit Weyhe, shows how differently the illustrators proceed in realizing their visual stories and how wide the aesthetic range of this genre is.

As the article documents in detail, the design of the exhibition offers an immersive experience to its visitors. The oppressive conditions of the imprisonment of Akram al-Saud whose story inspired Tobi Dahmen’s visual novel are vividly evoked. “On the floor of the exhibition space is a square of white adhesive strips, one meter and 80 centimeters long, two meters and 30 centimeters wide. It symbolizes the cell in which Akram al-Saud and 15 other men were imprisoned.”

The exhibition engages the visitors via various media and senses: “At four stations, visitors can listen to interviews via headphones in which the artists provide information about their working methods and the questions that arose when drawing the comics – for example, how to adequately translate the painful experiences of violence that their protagonists had to experience into images. On a monitor, you can leaf through the notebooks of one of the artists.”

As the author concludes, in spite of its immersive nature, it is evident that the Wiesbaden exhibition cannot replace the reading of the comics, and it is not its goal at all. Instead, it reports in detail on the creation of the very different works that deal with issues that remain highly relevant in the world today.

For the original article in Frankurter Allgemeine, please click here.

For our earlier post about the exhibition and the featured artists supported by the SCVN project, please click here.

On April 16, 2025, the Spanish RTVE (Radiotelevisión Española) published a feature on Barbara Yelin’s Spanish translation graphic novel Emmie Arbel. The Colour of Memory on its website. The article brings a brief biography of Emmie Arbel, a child survivor of the Holocaust and the narrator of Yelin’s book, as well as the story of the meeting of the two and their collaboration on the graphic narrative. Talking to RTVE, Yelin also reflects upon the instrumental role of the SCVN project and its emphasis on visual testimony in prompting her to tell Emmie’s story in the format of a graphic narrative:

“The motivation for my work is, of course, also political,” she tells us. “Now, when we see dangerous fascists emerging and growing in Germany, in Europe, and around the world , we need—in order to understand and combat this enormous danger—to learn, be aware of, and reflect on the fascist past of Nazi Germany .”

“”But my motivation has also been much more than that. I’m so happy to have been able to talk with Emmie, who is such a special, rebellious, humorous, outspoken, kind, and young person . I was very lucky that Emmie dedicated her time and trust to me. Only on that basis could this book be developed.”

“And I was also very happy to collaborate with so many researchers, historians, experts… on this great international project, which allowed me to meet and exchange ideas with other great international artists.”

Emmie Arbel. El colour de los recuerdos was translated into Spanish by Julia Gómez Sáez and published by Garbuix Books in March 2025. For more details, please click here.

For the original feature on RTVE: El Cómic, please click here.