Hero(ine)s features work from over twenty artists including Steven Appleby, Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, Finnish artist Kaisa Leka, Swiss artist Hélène Becquelin and Belgian comic artist Brecht Vandenbroucke.

Introducing Hero(ine)s - an international collaboration and comic art exhibition focusing on gender and comics

The exhibition features more than twenty original artworks where comic artists have been challenged to reinvent their chosen male superhero in female form and contribute a narrative to explain their choice of heroine and their perceptions of how women are represented in the comic genre.

Exhibition dates:

>> The Vallum Gallery, the University of Cumbria campus, Carlisle on May 7–21.
>> The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal, Cumbria 12–14 October.

Since the early days of the comic genre, female protagonists have been few and far between. Approximately one in four female comic characters are female, and even those characters often have passive or minor roles.

The Hero(ine)s exhibition aims to challenge, question and subvert our perceptions of the comic hero.

The exhibition, on show for the first time in this form and in the UK, is the result of a French collaboration between Lyon BD Festival and the renowned creator JC Deveney.

An Instagram campaign #heroinesproject encourages comic enthusiasts to draw and share their own heroines using the hashtag. A selection of these drawings will be displayed at the Lakes International Comics Art Festival in October.

Hero(ine)s is a collaboration between the Finnish Institute in London, Institut Français, Lyon BD Festival and JC Deveney, the Lakes International Comic Art Festival and the General Representation of the Government of Flanders in the UK.

The project is organised on behalf of the European Commission Representation in the UK to celebrate Europe Day.