by Prakash Velloo and Foo Ming Li

George Town Festival 2017 added a new flavour to its series with the first George Town Toys and Comic Con (GTTCC) at First Avenue shopping mall. GTTCC, which was jointly organised by GrafikDistrict Solutions and Han Chiang College, showcased and sold about 2,000 DIY toys, Action Figures and comics.

Han Chiang College Head of School of Applied Creative Arts and Design, Lim Chun Woei mentioned that famous collectors, toymakers, artists and designers from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia featured their best designs, in addition to the appearance of Malaysian Star Wars Fan Club and a cosplay.

“The event aims to spread the knowledge of art toys and comics to a wide range of visitors.” “The event also plans to create awareness towards the existence of the local cultural identity and pop culture in the country.”

“Han Chiang College staff and students are also exposed to the products as DIY toys, art toys, action figures and comics while getting to know famous designers from near and far at the event,” he added. Han Chiang College lecturer, Ben Lim displayed his 3D sculptures which can be utilised for animation or multimedia purposes. The puppets created can also be manipulated into a wide range of poses in stop-motion animation.

The event which was held at Lower Ground of First Avenue from 18 to 20 August 2017, featured famous toy makers and artists such as Mafia Factory, Tabun Lee and Thawan Topz Khiowpian from Thailand; Bowo from Indonesia; Jefferson Ng, Tek, Ikuwashi, Wackymons, UrbanCreatures, JackalX, Kangblabla, Dweey, Kenji Chai, and Sliz from Malaysia.

Photos by: https://www.facebook.com/liew.k.wen