The Years of Culture initiative, created by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani to deepen understanding between nations and their people, has recently partnered with Anime Café and Store 974 to bring together Doha’s anime enthusiasts in a friendly competition.
Attendees will be invited to create a one-page manga on-the-spot at Anime Café in Porto Arabia at The Pearl- Qatar, for a chance to win exciting prizes. The event will be hosted on 29 June from 6 pm to 8 pm. Visit yearsofculture.qa to register to join the competition.
Medium for cultural exchange
The event aims to serve as a medium for cultural exchange and celebration, exhibiting art that illustrates the friendship between Qatari and Japanese culture. Manga, which literally means cartooning in Japanese, refers to Japanese comics or graphic novels that originated in Japan in the late 19th century.
In addition to the Anime Café community event, Years of Culture also launched the second edition of Manga Style! in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan in Qatar and Geekdom of the Doha Film Institute. Local artists are encouraged to showcase their visual storytelling skills by submitting manga stories that connect Qatari culture with Japanese cartooning style. First place winner will receive a cash prize of QAR20,000, second place winner will receive QAR15,000 and the third place winner will receive QAR10,000.
Manga Style! competition applications, open until 31 July, are accepted here.
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