Over the course of the last decade, there has been a major boom in the Swedish comic art scene in terms of female participation. Pioneering artists such as Liv Strömquist and Nina Hemingsson have paved the way for a new generation of female artists, not only in Sweden, but across Europe. With quite a number of graduates from the Serieskolan (The Comic School) in Malmö among their ranks, they have managed to turn comic art into a cultural movement that aspires to challenge social norms, give voice to the feminist movement and discuss gender equality.

Organised in collaboration with Swedish Embassy in Spain, Seriefrämjandet y Swedish Art Council, the main objective of the exhibition Here They Come... All the Way from Sweden with Brand New Comics is to introduce the most important Swedish artists on the current scene to the Spanish public. Based on an autobiographical perspective and vision and featuring reproductions of fragments of graphic novels and vignettes by the selected artists, this group exhibition - curated by Jamil Mani and already seen in Berlin in 2019 - introduces the public to the main themes that dominate the content of their work: social criticism, taboos, sexuality and taking on the patriarchy.

The exhibition, organised by the Veranos de la Villa Festival, seeks to foster an encounter between the female comic art world in Sweden and in Spain, in order to exchange experiences and visions. The exhibition is enhanced by meetings between artists from the two countries designed to create an open dialogue about their differences and their similarities and how they use the art of the comic as a tool with which to raise important social issues. Open to the general public, these meetings also seek to bring together the professional comic community and create a platform for exchange between Spain and Sweden.

Artists: Bitte Andersson, Natalia Batista, Sara Bergmark Elfgren & Karl Jonsson, Daria Bogdanska, Karin Gafvelin, Joanna Hellgren, Lina Neidestam, Liv Strömquist, Li Österberg, Berit Viklund