About PCAF
The Perth Comic Arts Festival is a not-for-profit organisation created to share love for sequential storytelling with Perth, Australia in free, creator-focused events that are all about making comic books accessible for all ages.
We celebrate comics of all types, including but not limited to graphic novels, manga, vertical scroll, and comic strips.
Our activities include:
- PCAF annual flagship festival –– Every winter, we host a two-day celebration of comics in Perth’s Cultural Centre in two parts. Academy Day (Saturday) is a full day of professional development for aspiring and experienced comic creators. Market Day (Sunday) is a public market hall featuring over 80 comic creators selling their work, plus family-friendly programming all day.
- Monthly Academy meetups –– On the first Sunday of most months, local comic creators gather at the State Library of WA for knowledge-sharing, community-building sessions.
- Stories events –– Twice a year, these live reading events turn sequential storytelling into performance art.
- Collaborations –– Starting with the Comic Creator Hot Desk Fellowship, we hope to collaborate more with other arts organisations as we continue to grow.
A Brief HisTOry of PCAF
The first Perth Comic Arts Festival was held in 2017 at Edith Cowan University in Mount Lawley and has continued as an annual festival since. ECU continued hosting until 2021, until the event moved to the WA Museum Boola Bardip. Now, PCAF has moved fully to the State Library of Western Australia, keeping its home in the heart of Perth’s Cultural Centre.
PCAF programming was expanded to include monthly Academy meetups and Stories live readings in 2023 thanks to a partnership with the State Library of WA. In 2024, we continue to grow with a collaboration with the Centre for Stories, who are hosting a Comic Creator Hot Desk Fellowship.
Operating Manual
The succinct mission statement of the Perth Comic Arts Festival is as follows:
“PCAF shares its love for sequential storytelling with Perth in a free, creator-focused event that’s all about making comics accessible for all ages.”
PCAF’s Operating Manual breakdowns down our mission statement further, and serves as PCAF’s constitution and governing document in matters relating to the organisation of the festival and conduct of committee and participants.
We encourage those interesting in working with PCAF to look over the document for a better understanding how we work.
It is available to read here.