Posted in: Comics | Tagged: arc, Kat Chapman, London. Paul Gravett
Comics On Walls: Joe Kessler, Kat Chapman, Oli
Exhibiting Comics: Joe Kessler, Kat Chapman, OliRC Festival Talks
Published Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:27:09 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Article Summary
- Comics On Walls at ARC asks what exhibitions add to comics, from gallery display to shared, hands-on reading.
- Olivia Ahmad and Paul Gravett weigh haptic access, iPads, rare books and why wall-mounted comics can miss the medium.
- Kat Chapman and Joe Kessler explore rough art, context, glossaries and how comics exhibitions can win new readers.
- ARC Festival Talks in Peckham also spotlight MOTE, creator networking, artist pay and comics made specifically for shows.
I’m still at the ARC Contemporary Comics Festival Talks today at The Hub in Peckham, London, ahead of tomorrow’s ARC small press festival. And right now that is White Walls: Exhibiting Comics, with Joe Kessler, Kat Chapman, Oliore coverage using the ARC tag
OliComics, on at The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration told us the challenge with exhibiting comics is that they are as perfect as they are, what do they gain by being exhibited?
Curator Paul Gravett, currently with agreed, asking how people could interact and engage in the work on a wall, rather than a comic in the hand, and looked at a recent Pompidou gallery of comic books that seemed to lose the point of the medium. But also that however they are oriented, they can open up a window to the visitor. Their exhibition included iPads, as well as physical copies in the hand for people to read, even the rare and valuable ones, Paul wanted to emphasise the “haptic” aspect of that experience in a gallery, while Olivia enjoyed watching people reading the comic books together, a rarity.
Kat Chapman begins the recent Harrogate comics exhibition talked about how it had to attract attendees after Thought Bubble had been and gone, with video, and showing rough art next to finished art on the walls. She enjoyed not only bringing other artists’ work together, but also bringing the artists in themselves, who were often amazed at each other’s way of working. But she also got lots of notes from visitors at the show saying they had bought their first comics. And it was also important to provide a glossary to those who didn’t know all the ins and outs of comic book language used by the artists exhibiting.
Joe Kessle who has just curated the Mote exhibition alongside the ARC Featival says he doesn’t like reading comics on the wall, looks more to the detritus around a comic book creation and what that means. As well as finding illustrations that can exist in and of themselves as well as comic pages. And also getting the artists together, “but from an outside perspective, as a curator I get to say I love all this work and it all goes together, and maybe people can see it.” He also talked about some of the more practical issues, the heat, the location, the kind of crowd it will draw next to an art school and not… he joked that he might have gotten some notes saying people had bought their last comics.
Paul Gravett also talked about how exhibitions bring together people who had never met before, and as a Man At The Crossroads he delights in bringing them together, often unaware of each other’s work. And Olivia talked about how people often don’t have access to the history outside of such shows. There was a back and forth over whether it was great to show comic books as big and as bold as possible, or as scrappy and as small as possible to reflect different aspects of the art form, the industry, the creation and the published pages.
There’s also the possibility to create comics for a show, which as well as exhibiting old comics and art, can create a brand new comic book with new work for the show.specifically designed for the show. And talking about payments, I’ve just realised that I should have probably asked Harrods to pay me when I curated their comic book exhibition a few decades ago. I just did it for free. Never thought about it until now… The ARC Comics Talks have been on all day today, with a Drink And Draw to follow in Soho, and the ARC Small Press Comics festival all weekend long – with a party on the Saturday night!
Friday, 10th of July
- Art, Poetry, Music: Visualising Time and Performance, 10:30-11:30am. Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham, with Anaïs Sière. Anu Ambasna. Josephine M. K. Edwards. Miranda Smart. chaired by Dr Maggie Gray
- International Publishers: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Print Based Publishing in the 21st Century, 11:45am-12:45pm Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham with Cram Books, PageMasters, Peow2, SelfMadeHero chaired by Dr Andrea Aramburú
- UK Small Press: History and Heritage, 1:30-2:45pm Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham with Blanca Garcia Paja. Ed Pinsent. Dr Ian Horton. Paul Gravett. Sarah Marhurter. Woodrow Phoenix chaired by Douglas Noble
- Contemporary Fantasy, 3-4pm Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham With Hollow Press, Lando, Leomi Sadler, Linnea Sterte chaired by Matt Seneca
- White Walls: Exhibiting Comics, 4:15-5:15pm Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham with Joe Kessler (Mote). Kat Chapman (Avery Hill). Olivia Ahmad and Paul Gravett (Queer as Comics, The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration) Chaired by Dr Gareth Brookes
- The Comic Book Musicals of A.T. PRATT.5:15-6:30pm Arc Festival Talks at The Hub at the UAL, Bonar Road, Peckham
- MOTE Public View for Arc Festival, AMP Gallery, 1 Acorn Parade, Peckham 6am-6pm
With Alex Treskman, Andres Magan, Anna Haifisch, Brie Moreno, Cameron Arthur, Emil Friis-Ernst, Erlend Peder Kvam, Fidelia Schlegl, Hugh Frost, Joe Kessler, John Molesworth, Kayla Lui, Leomi Sadler, Molly Colleen O’Connell, Richard Short, Wai Wai Pang, Zeel
- Gosh x ARC x Broken Frontier Present Drink and Draw With Niall Breen, Matt Seneca and Mark Stafford, Gosh Comics/Royal George, Soho, from 7pm. We welcome artists Niall Breen and Matt Seneca, along with our cartoonist in residence Mark Stafford to join us on the Friday before the weekend fair. The three will be tabling at ARC over the weekend along with an incredible line-up of fantastic artists.
Saturday, 11th of July
- ARC Contemporary Comics Festivalat Unit 8, Copeland Park, Peckham. 11am-6pm
A festival of contemporary comics in South East London, taking place over four days in July, showcasing some of the best independent comics, graphic novels, sequential art and form-altering visual narrative. The festival will launch with an exhibition and talks, before culminating in a comics fair over 2 days, featuring a curated line-up of over 100 UK-based and international artists and publishers - MOTE Public View, AMP Gallery. 1 Acorn Parade, Peckham 6am-6pm
- Arc Festival Saturday night party with ARC X GOB Nation, 6.30 pm until late at The Greyhound on Peckham High St.
Sunday 12th July
- ARC Contemporary Comics Festival at Unit 8, Copeland Park,Peckham. 11am-6pm
A festival of contemporary comics in South East London, taking place over four days in July, showcasing some of the best independent comics, graphic novels, sequential art and form-altering visual narrative. The festival will launch with an exhibition and talks, before culminating in a comics fair over 2 days, featuring a curated line-up of over 100 UK-based and international artists and publishers - MOTE Public View, AMP Gallery. AMP Gallery, 1 Acorn Parade, Peckham 6am-6pm
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