MAZG for Culture and Arts

Build the Capacity of Comic Artists

Encourage Publishing Comic Books

Promote Comic art
We are supporting the Comics industry

Supporting non-traditional, under exposed and underground art forms to help create the right environment for our network of artists to thrive in Egypt.

Our work is spread to empower both professional artists and beginners.

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WE ARE SUPPORTING COMIC INDUSTRY

During 2013 – 2015, our work was focused on the comics arts industry in Egypt. Thus, aiming to refresh and revive it, more especially, after the decline it witnessed during the 90s. Through this work, we identified three main pillars that support the strategic growth, development and sustained successful presence of the industry:

Build the capacity of comic artists.

Encourage Publishing Comic Books.

Promote Comics Art.

"Allak Feen" Magazine

A new magazine issued by Mazg through the "Info Comix" workshop" that aims to address the idea of "freedom of knowledge", in collaboration with Support for Information Technology Center.

our latest Activities

Mazg is committed to promote comic industry and empower comic artists through varied activities and projects

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Express yourself through Comics workshop

Mazg organized its first comics training workshop in February 2013. The 4 days workshop took place at the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression in Cairo. The workshop was instructed by comics artist: Makhlouf and the scriptwriter Tamer Abdel Hamid. It was attended by 10 university students from Cairo and other governorates. The workshop provided training for young artists on the techniques of creating comics, including drawing and writing, and on promoting the use of comics as an alternative art form to self expression. ®Supported by The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression

Curriculum of Comics Making

Mazg created a specialized curriculum and training manual in the process of creating comic illustrations. The content was a result of a long chain of sessions, with 7 of the most prominent comic artists in Egypt, sessions were held in the Arab Digital Expression Foundation (ADEF), throughout April 2013. The outcomes included a 6 days' workshop, for beginners and faux beginners on the techniques of drawing comics and comics script writing. The manual is available for free online on the wiki link: ®Supported by ADEF

Time Difference workshop

Mazg seeks to decentralize its activities, and direct its efforts towards outreach and discovering young local talents living in the suburbs and rural areas around Egypt, as well as the centre, Cairo. Within the context of our Outreach campaigns, we launched the Time Difference Workshops, which is targeted at governorates.

The workshops apply the curriculum that Mazg developed in collaboration with ADEF. Participants learn the techniques of creating comics, and writing scripts for comics. The first workshop was organized in June 2013, in Alexandria, the second largely populated city in Cairo. This was organized in coordination with Comicsawy, a group that works to promote the art of comic art in Egypt. The workshop was instructed by professional comic artists, including Hesham Rahma for illustration and Tamer Abdel Hamid for scriptwriting. Out of 65 applications received through an open call, 14 young artists made it successfully to the workshop. The second workshop was organized during October 2013 in Mansoura, in coordination with Books &Beans Bookstore. It was instructed by Magdy El Shafie for illustration, and the scriptwriter Mohamed Ismail Amin. Out of 30 applicants, 12 young artists made it successfully to the workshop. The third workshop was organized during June 2014 in Sohag, in coordination with Koshk Elmedia. It was instructed by the comics artist Magdy El Shafie and scriptwriter Mohamed Ismail Amin.

Out of 40 applicants, 13 young fresh talented artists made it successfully through the workshop, this workshop was funded by The Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute "DEDI". The Fourth workshop was organized during October 2014 in EL Menya , in coordination with Dawar El Fnoon. It was instructed by the comics artist Mohamed Khaled. Out of 30 applicants, 12 young fresh talented artists made it successfully through the workshop The Time Difference workshops are supported by the Development Support Centre (DSC) and the Arab Digital Expression Foundation (ADEF).

The comics’ factory workshop

Held in August 2014 in Cairo in coordination with DEDI. It was a specialized comic art training program for young and emerging visual artists and writers from Egypt, instructed by Egyptian and Danish Comics artists; Thomas Friis Pedersen and Magdy EL Shafie. They trained 10 selected artists, who already participated in Mazg’s previous workshops from around Egypt. During this factory, the participants along with the instructors, managed to produce a collective comic album " The Express".

The Comic Story in Egypt

Mazg produced a documentary film - Comics Byl Masry - about the history of comics in Egypt and it has been screened at creativity centre in the Opera house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aooaHlkrTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSc8dMCTgJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvXDg9ARSHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTsQ7ZfFl9s

Facing the climate

In collaboration with the Swedish institute Alexandria and the Swedish institute Stockholm, Mazg has organized Facing the climate change event, which included a competition for the best comic strip or cartoon about the climate change. The event also included drawing graffiti on the wall of the creativity center in Alexandria by the many Egyptian artists on the same topic. The event took place at 27 and 28th of Nov 2015.

Al Mohtaraff Workshop

Al-Mohtaraf is a training workshop for young comic artists which took place during 3 months from Jun until Sep 2015.

Hadil Abo Zeid

Info Comics workshop

Info comics is a workshop in collaboration with "Support for Information Technology Center". The goal of the workshop is to express the idea of "freedom of knowledge" in a comic book. Ten comic artists are trained in two days on the principles of freedom of knowledge to create comic scenarios of Egypt's daily life and the people right to access knowledge and circulation of information. The output of this workshop is "Allak Feen?" magazine which was released in April 2016.

The Express Book

A book containing ten graphic stories from many different cities around Egypt, who are creating comics for the first time. These stories were developed during the Comic Factory workshop in 2014.

The first Comics Forum

The first Comics Forum was organized in April 2013 and was hosted by ADEF, with the participation of Egyptian comics’ artists, writers and potential comics publishers. The discussion panel discussed the challenges facing the comics industry, the problems of publishing comics’ novels in Egypt and the recommended solutions. Highlight was brought on the most important initiatives in the comics industry during the past 5 years.

The first Comics Forum

Out Of Cadre is an Egyptian comic series" which has been set in collaboration between Mazg and Correspondents "the Internet platform for young and seasoned journalists from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya". The project gives the opportunity to many artists to practice the comic journalism and tackle topics that the written journalism can't, in an artistic way.

Mazg Comics Tube
**Comics, Illustrations**

Mazg channel on Youtube

In March 2015, Mazg has prepared videos for training how to make in addition to educational content for comics artists. From the idea to final production of the story

Empowerment awareness program

Mazg seeks to create an arena, where the stake holders of the industry can network in order to create synergies among them that should lead to cooperation and co-productions. Mazg also encourages publishing houses to take on the production, distribution and publishing of the comics and graphic novels.