What is the Artist Village at Polymanga Switzerland?

For over 20 years (since 2005), Polymanga has been providing all illustrators and artists free booths and the necessary infrastructure in the Artist Village (Artist Alley). In 20 years, we gave out over 2,000 booths. Polymanga welcomes +50’000 attendees yearly.

At Polymanga, the Artist Village (Artist Alley) booths are free!

This unique initiative allows cartoonists/illustrators to freely showcase and sell their work, meet their audience, and connect with other enthusiasts — all free of charge.

110 free booths allocated through selection!

Since spaces are limited to 110, artists are selected based on their portfolio by submitting their 3 best original illustrations of the year through the contact form available here. Every year, Polymanga receives several hundred applications from professionals or highly talented amateurs from all over the world. The styles are diverse: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Illustration, Children’s art…
There is no stylistic preference.

Each artist must register individually.

Each application is individual: group registrations are not accepted. The selection is based solely on the three illustrations provided by the artist, created entirely by them and never previously submitted to the Polymanga organization.

No AI-generated artwork, no fan art.

AI-generated artworks and fan art are strictly prohibited in the application portfolio. The only exception: at the festival, up to 10% of fan art is allowed per booth. The Polymanga audience comes for original creations. The fact that you can draw a Naruto doesn’t interest us.

No erotic or pornographic artwork.

There are many kids at the festival, so erotic or pornographic drawings are prohibited. Artistic nudity is subject to the organizer’s discretion. “Shame binders” containing categories banned from the festival (AI, fan art, erotic, etc.) are not allowed.

MaBulle @ Polymanga is one of the largest drawing contests in Europe.

The 110 selected artists participate to MaBulle @ Polymanga: the major art contest held each year on social media. Cash prizes are awarded to the winners based on both public votes and jury votes. Last year, the contest generated over one million views and received more than 80,000 votes. It’s a great boost for the visibility of artists on site and for the event as a whole. The artist retains ownership of their illustration created for Polymanga — they may print and sell it. Polymanga will only use it for communication purposes or for an exhibition.

MaBulle @ Polymanga… continued

Each artist already selected for the festival must create a square-format artwork on a theme chosen by the organizers. This digital contest, shared on Instagram, allows the public to vote for their favorite creations. The illustrations must be made entirely by the artist, without any external assistance or use of artificial intelligence. In addition to the jury and public awards, the artists who receive most votes will be granted the best booth locations at the event.

Exponential growth of the Artists’ alley.

Art to Play festival in Nantes was co-founded six years after Polymanga by the organizers of Polymanga and Exponantes. It helped to develop the Artists’ Village and the art contest under the same conditions as Polymanga. This partnership between Polymanga and Art to Play allows 330 illustrators each year to receive a free booth and make a living from their art. The combined Ma Bulle contest between Polymanga and Art to Play has become the largest art competition in Europe, with over 3.5 million views and 200,000 votes.

1,200 artist applications are processed each year for Polymanga and Art to Play.