The comics under the single title "When It Began" are the joint work of Ukrainian artists and students who found a home at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Each of them comes from a different region of Ukraine and often have completely different cultural, but also creative experiences. What unites them is the war and its effects, the forced departure from their own country, the need to share their story and the desire to show the importance of personal experience in the turmoil of modern events. The comics are a reflection of their thoughts, their current situation and their state of mind. Symbolic stories alternate with utopian images and those that describe their own fate in a very realistic way. Humour and exaggeration are often present, as is an optimistic view of the future.


The book, from which the KOMA festival is exhibiting some of the comics, was prepared by editors Alice Nikitinová and Petra Dobruská.


Its co-authors are: Anna Banytiuk, Viktoriia Bobko, Julia Chujenko, Liliia Dorovska, Yelyzaveta Honcharenko, Anna Kaigorodova, Sofiia Kolopeniuk, Anastasiia Lisnycha, Olena Nurmamedova, Violetta Piatnytska, Heorhii Rublik, Anna Solianyk, Anastasiia Tovstokor, Yelyzaveta Ulianova, Olena Zahrebina, Bohdana Zaiats.


The book is part of the project "Sharing Ukrainian Stories in Prague", which was created within the EUNIC cluster and with the support of the Cultural Solidarity Fund, funded by the European Cultural Foundation.