Second edition of the AlhóndigaBilbao scholarship

Well that, the second chance to win this is already underway scholarship so juicy, from the hand of Bilbao city hall and from the center of the Alhondiga. Remember that the winner of the first edition, the Catalan Clara Tanit has already published his first work with Astiberri.

AlhóndigaBilbao presents its second comic scholarship within the framework of the Angouleme International Comic Festival (France)

* The person receiving a scholarship will enjoy a one-year stay at “La Maison des Auteurs” (The House of Authors) in Angouleme, the most prestigious comic strip center in Europe, to work on a project for a graphic comic strip.
* The jury that will decide this scholarship will be made up of prestigious figures from the world of comics, and chaired by the renowned cartoonist Paco Roca, winner of the National Comic Award.
* Currently, Clara-Tanit Arqué, winner of last year's scholarship, is enjoying the scholarship in Angouleme and will be present at the press conference that will be offered there by the Managing Director of AlhóndigaBilbao, Marian Egaña.

Bilbao, January 29, 2009. AlhóndigaBilbao gives again the opportunity to enjoy the comic scholarship. This is a grant through which AlhóndigaBilbao wants to promote creation and encourage the emergence of new talents in the field of comics. To do this, it has created the comic scholarship to be awarded this year for the second consecutive year, with which it wants to finance the realization of a project selected for its artistic values ​​and innovative character.

AlhóndigaBilbao will present this scholarship tomorrow Friday at the Ciudad Internacional del Cómic, in Angouleme (France), which these days celebrates its International Festival of graphic history. A Festival that last year brought together nearly 250.000 people during its celebration.

This entity, the Ciudad Internacional del Cómic and specifically, its' La Maison des Auteurs ”(The House of Authors), collaborates with AlhóndigaBilbao in awarding this scholarship.

The House of Authors of Angoulême is a center of recognized international prestige, located in France, dedicated to comics and other audiovisual arts (animated films, video games, ... etc.) and which welcomes authors to whom it offers the favorable working conditions for creation, with the aim of carrying out your project in it.

Since its opening in 2002, La Maison des Auteurs de Angoulema has welcomed more than seventy male and female authors, both new and professional, from France and other countries, to develop projects related to comics or graphic storytelling. All these authors have benefited from a free equipment framework, from an individual or collective workshop, equipped with the necessary material for creating images (computer station, drawing board, scanner, ... etc.).
Common spaces are also made available to the scholarship recipients, such as a computer and reprography room, documentation room, exhibition and conference room, among other resources.

Endowment of the scholarship

The AlhóndigaBilbao-Cómic scholarship is endowed with:

* Accommodation in an apartment for up to twelve months (electricity, gas and water on behalf of the fellow).
* Access to the equipment and all the services of La Maison des Auteurs.
* One thousand euros per month up to a maximum of one year.
* AlhóndigaBilbao, on its own or in collaboration with a specialized publisher, will study the possibility of publishing the project in the year following the end of the scholarship. The publication, if produced, will be in Basque and Spanish.

To apply for the AlhóndigaBilbao-Cómic scholarship, candidates must meet the following requirements:

* Being over 18 years of age, residing in Spain and not studying at any official center.
* Present a comic creation project (in Basque or Spanish) that allows a correct visualization of the work either in paper or digital format.

The deadline for submitting projects is April 14, 2009 and the jury's decision will be announced in June 2009. The scholarship recipient will begin her stay from January 2010.

The jury

The jury that will carry out the selection will be made up of cartoonists, screenwriters and specialized critics of recognized prestige in this field and will be chaired by Paco Roca, recently awarded the National Comic Award and will be part of it: Álvaro Pons, Juan Manuel Díaz de Guereñu, Paco Camarasa, José Ibarrola and, Antonio Altarriba.

This initiative by AlhóndigaBilbao is part of a broad collaboration agreement signed with the “Cité internationale de la Bande dessinée et de l´image” to promote both initiatives related to comics and other audiovisual trends that are currently booming. .

'La Maison des Auteurs ”by Angoulema

Since the creation in 1974 of the first International Comic Festival, Angoulema has established itself as the capital of 9th art.
In the course of this event, various structures - the National Comic Strip Center, the School of Animation Film Trades - have favored the emergence of a permanent dynamic for the city and its region.

In order to provide concrete support to image creators living in Angoulema or wishing to settle in Angoulema, 'La Maison des Auteurs' was created, the doors of which were opened in July 2002.

'La Maison des Auteurs ”aims to:

* Provide working conditions conducive to creation, welcoming authors to carry out a professional project in it,
* Present a showcase of creation in the fields of comics, animation and multimedia, through exhibitions and events,
* Propose a center for technical and documentary resources,
* Constitute a place for meetings and exchanges,
* Help protect the statute of author and defend intellectual property in the field of artistic creation.

Since its opening, the House of Authors has welcomed different creators and young talents or even confirmed authors, from France and other places such as Jimmy Beaulieu, originally from Quebec, the Americans Richard McGuire and Jimmy Johnson or the Russian Nikolaï Maslov .