site.btaBulgarian Cartoonist Gissen Bridges Cultures at ASEAN-China Art Event

Bulgarian artist Givko Tenev-Gissen represented Bulgaria at the International Cartoon Contest, organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and China, Gissen's team said here on Thursday.

For the participation in the exhibition, which will be displayed at Bentara Budaya Jakarta until December 9 and at Bentara Budaya Bali until the end of December, Gissen was awarded with a certificate. The event aims to strengthen social ties between Southeast Asian countries and Chinese society in social, economic, artistic, and cultural contexts, Gissen's team added.

"2024 is the year of people-to-people exchange between ASEAN and China. The two sides planned to hold more than 100 related activities throughout the year, including those focused on youth, tourism, media, education, art, and sports. This inspired the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia to collaborate with Bentara Budaya Jakarta (Kompas Gramedia Group) and HOCA (House Of Cartoon maniA) to organize an event in the field of visual arts, particularly cartoons and comics, to strengthen the ties between Chinese and ASEAN communities", Gissen's team said.

"Cartoons, as a universal language, are more easily understood by people than written texts. This art form is the most popular visual style globally. Thus, cartoons can serve as a tool or bridge for fostering mutual understanding and strengthening connections among people of different ethnicities, cultures, languages, beliefs, and countries," Gissen said. He mentioned that participants are encouraged to discover and explore other stories in their region or country using their own creativity.

Gissen is involved in cartooning, graphic design, painting, graphics, posters, murals, and performance art. He has had over 140 solo exhibitions, published more than 9,000 cartoons in Bulgarian publications, and won awards in several countries.