Italian
Last appointment for the 2026 tour of “Girls Don’t Know How to Draw”, the cultural project of the International School of Comics in Brescia dedicated to contemporary comics, which enhances female authors and women’s narratives, helping to redefine the storytelling of the feminine through visual language
Padua – On Friday, June 19 at 11:00 AM, at the headquarters of the School at via Castelfidardo 11 in Padua, Chiara Abastanotti and Igiaba Scego present the graphic novel Children of the Forest (BeccoGiallo editions).
Signed by writer and journalist Igiaba Scego and illustrated by Chiara Abastanotti, the comic reconstructs the true story of Tukuba and Makunka, two children torn from their land. A true story of colonialism, racism, and erasure.
“Tukuba and Makunka are our children, our brothers, our ancestors. Their story is ours. A story that must become part of the Italian public memory,” emphasizes Igiaba Scego. The meeting is moderated by Mattia Ferri, screenwriter and editor at BeccoGiallo.
Igiaba Scego is an Italian writer and journalist of Somali origins, active in exploring themes such as migration, post-colonialism, and Afro-Italian identity. She collaborates with La Lettura of Corriere della Sera and Internazionale.
Children of the Forest marks her entry into the world of comics. Her works are translated into many languages.
Chiara Abastanotti is a comic artist and illustrator for various Italian publishing houses, organizes educational workshops, collaborates with some theater companies for the creation of animated sets, and since 2018 has been a Comics teacher at the Brescia branch of the International School of Comics. She blends the language of drawing with theater and music, collaborates with some theater companies for the creation of animated sets, and draws live for Marco Rovelli, for the electronic duo Two Monkeys, and for Cartastorie.
The project Girls Don’t Know How to Draw brings some of the most interesting voices of the contemporary scene to the city. The tour also takes place in parallel in Brescia and made a stop in Pescara, where a selection of the works was exhibited in university spaces last March.
At the origin of the project The Girls Don’t Know How to Draw is the eponymous exhibition of 2023, born in Brescia as part of Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture, from an idea by Marta Comini and Maria La Duca, directors of the Brescia branch of the International School of Comics, together with art historian Melania Gazzotti.
An initiative that brought together twenty authors in an exhibition path capable of telling the comic as a space of expressive freedom and overcoming stereotypes. Through personal experiences, historical reinterpretations, and fictional narratives, the exhibition had conveyed the complexity of the contemporary female gaze.
The 2026 tour represents its natural evolution today: a vibrant, itinerant format that brings the discussion directly to the audience and strengthens the role of comics as a language capable of interpreting the present.
In this context, Padua is not only a stop but also an active place of cultural production, where the “ninth art” becomes a tool for dialogue and awareness.
