Rude Britannia on the road at Bestival and Big Chill festivals

(with thanks to French Kiss Vintage for the news tip): As well as the 'static' exhibition in London, Tate Britain's Rude Britannia exhibition has been on tour this Summer, and there are workshops and other events planned at two more festivals in the next few weeks.

• Camp Bestival (Ludworth Castel, Dorset, 30th July – 1st August): 

Listen to an informal lecture by curator Cedar Lewisohn which explores the links between art and humour past and present. Inspired by Tate Britain's exhibition Rude Britannia: British Comic Art the lecture will ask can art be funny? And if it can, what are the jokes about? There will also be a selection of films from the exhibition Rude Britannia: British Comic Art, jointly selected by Tate curators and comedian Harry Hill.  The programme includes works by artists including Oliver Michael and Edwina Ashton, who tells the story of twig that works in a Library!

• The Big Chill (Eastnor Castle, Deer Park Hertfordshire, 5- 8 August): In the Words in Motion tent Tate Britain curator, Cedar Lewisohn and artist Doug Fishbone present a talk outlining the history, vision and artists of Rude Britannia. The event includes  life drawing inspired by Benny Hill and the like!

Rude Britannia at Tate Britain, London charts the evolution of British Comic art, encompassing drawings, sculpture and film from the 1600's through to modern day and runs until 5th September 2010. Admission is £10, concessions £6.

• More info at: www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/britishcomicart/default.shtm

• Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions. Open every day 10.00–18.00. Last admission to exhibitions

Tube Surfing: Dez Skinn, Fanzines Galore and Simone Lia

Right, what's happening out there...

Lew Stringer's ace comics blog informs us that Dez Skinn has a new website. Dez was, of course, the man behind such titles as Warrior, Comics International and Doctor Who Weekly (still with us as Doctor Who Magazine).

Warwick Johnson Cadwell has posted his ace A.B.C Warriors strip from new 2000 AD fanzine, Nu Earth online at his blog. Warwick sent me a copy of the fanzine and I have to say it's, well, zarjaz. Will Kirkby has done the same with the pencils for his cracking contribution, a fab Rogue Trooper strip. Tharg, employ these men now!!!

Paul Gravett's new article about and interview with cartoonist Simone Lia is well worth checking out. In the interview, Simone talks about various topics, including her new work-in-progress, a graphic novel about her relationship with God:

"I was passing through Leicester Square almost three years ago and the bubbling inspiration came to me and I had a fuzzy vision of the completed story whilst standing near a red telephone box," she explains. "I was so excited and happy to be suddenly inspired again, I had a sense the book would be about an adventure with God. When it came to starting the work however I really didn’t know how to go about having an adventure with God and how I might show it in a comic. Showing that relationship is such a personal thing. Part of me definitely did not want to open that up for everyone to see but the feeling to make the book didn’t go away. It’s been taking a long time to produce partly because of that uncertainty of depicting this personal area of my life and also because the story in real life has had to unravel."

Paul also sends word of an opportunity for creators of humorous zines and comics to have their work displayed in the reading room at Tate Britain as part of their Rude Britannia exhibition.

Here's the skinny, from the Tate's website:

"Help us curate the reading room of the Rude Britannia exhibition with an array of humorous fanzines, comics and home made publications. Rude Britannia: British Comic Art celebrates all that is comical, satirical, political, absurd and bawdy in British art from 1600s to today and we would like you to respond to these themes. The best fanzines will be selected by curator Cedar Lewisohn and placed in the exhibition space for a period of time. Please only send publications that you think are funny. We will notify you if your publication has been selected, but we cannot commit to sending your publication back to you."

And finally, small press comics news blog Bugpower draws our attention to another opportunity for self-publishers:

"Cerebus.TV are starting a "Small Press Comics Focus" feature, and they are looking for submissions for future episodes. Email indie@exoss.net for details. You can see a promo for the first one HERE. The 'pilot' has been put together by the guys at Cerebus.tv and features the minicomics of Dan Fish (Hey, that's ME). It appears as part of Episode 30, which streams online starting Friday 18th June and 24/7 all week long."

Competition: Win a Rude Britannia Book!

Marking the launch of the Rude Britannia Exhibition at the Tate, downthetubes has THREE copies of the tie-in book - Rude Britannia: British Comic Art by Martin Myrone, Tim Batchelor and Cedar Lewisohn - to give away!


Comic art - art that gains its effect through visual humour, caricature, exaggeration and slapstick, whether in print, reproduction or through the moving image - has long helped shape and inform British culture.

This 160 page, entertaining and irreverent history - featuring 100 colour illustrations - aims to present a wide-screen vision of comic art, from the eighteenth century to the present day, it features works by classic cartoonists and caricaturists, from Gillray, Rowlandson and Cruikshank, to Steve Bell, Robert Crumb, David Low and Ronald Searle. Beginning with the origins of the caricature, the book encompasses cartoons, comic books, film, photography, audio, new media and contemporary art. It traces the development of different genres and techniques, and deals with the development of successive media, from the engraving through to the newspaper and the online blog.

Through extensive illustrations of classic and little-known facets of comic art, the book succeeds in telling an alternative history of Britain. Leading critics are joined by well-known comedians, cartoonists and historians, making this a very contemporary take on what is still a rich and vibrant seam in the public life of the nation.

Martin Myrone is Curator (18th & 19th Century British Art), Tate Britain and is the author of The Blake Book, Henry Fuseli and George Stubbs. Tim Batchelor is Assistant Curator at Tate Britain and Cedar Lewisohn works for Tate Media and is the author of Street Art.

HOW TO ENTER: Simply answer the question below and send us the answer by e-mail to johnfreeman6-tatebritaincomp@yahoo.co.uk to arrive by 12 noon on Friday 25th June 2010. Please include a contact address. Sorry, UK readers only, due to postage costs! Three winners with the correct answer will be drawn at random from the downthetubes straw hat by the office cat and the names will be published on the web site.

• Which British national newspaper publishes Steve Bell's "If" comic strip?

Good luck!

• More about the book here on the Tate Britain web site


• Tate Britain is at Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Tel: 020 7887 8888 E-mail: visiting.britain@tate.org.uk. Web: www.tate.org.uk/britain/. Entry is free except for major exhibitions: Entrance to Rude Britannia is £10, Concessions £6. Open every day 10.00–18.00. Last admission to exhibitions