Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival 2008
April 2008

It's being held in Shrewsbury in the UK - 18th to 20th April 2008.

What's on

The theme of this year's Cartoon Festival is 'Art', which will be explored through a series of exhibitions, workshops, hands-on activities and 'artists at large'.

Participating cartoonists will be interpreting this theme in an
exhibition of around 80 cartoons at The Bear Steps Gallery in Shrewsbury. Most pieces will be for sale, and will include originals and prints (from April 1st through to April 26th).

This will be complemented by a separate exhibition entitled 'Rogues
Gallery' by political cartoonist Dave Brown.

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Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery will be hosting 'Art About Face', another selling exhibition, celebrating the art of caricature and famous faces from the arts world (from March 20th to April 26th).

'Board with Art', meanwhile, will introduce an even lighter note to the
Festival weekend's proceedings, and will offer visitors the chance to
get much more closely involved.

Cartoonists will be working on giant boards within the town's historic Square to create around 20 pieces of work on the festival theme of Art. The 'instant' exhibition will take shape over Friday 18th and Saturday 19th from 11am to 4pm.

Some of the best cartoonists in the business will also be 'at large' in
the Square, on both days, drawing caricatures of visitors - for free.

And in yet another take on the "world's-first", introduced by the 2007
Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival, members of the public will be invited to participate in 'Who Do You Think You Are' - utilising the
old-fashioned seaside picture postcard hoarding which, in Shrewsbury,
involves the sitter placing their face through a hole in a wooden frame, and the cartoonist then drawing a caricature body 'to order'!

Organisers are once again planning to add to the atmosphere of the
weekend by offering 'Have-a-go' workshops for children and families,
'Cartoon Clinics' for aspiring artists, political cartooning and stand-up comedy with cartoons.

Shrewsbury has played host to an International Cartoon Festival since
2004. It has grown to become one of the leading events of its kind in the world, and is now able to attract around 40 full-time, professional
cartoonists and caricaturists from the UK and overseas.

External links

Full details of the 2008 festival are now available at www.shrewsburycartoonfestival.com.

For accommodation and tourist information, see:
www.visitshrewsbury.com.