Since its establishment on June 21, 2017, the non-profit organization Echo Chamber has been committed to promoting and encouraging activities related to the research and production of new forms of comic books within the French Community. In addition to its roles in the development and integration of new technologies in comic book craftsmanship, the digitization of printed collections, and consultancy work in the fields of art and technology, the non-profit organizes various activities (publications, workshops, artist talks, and now a residency program) aimed specifically at promoting contemporary research in the field of experimental publishing. Created within the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Echo Chamber represents a unique model in the sector of comic books and graphic literature. Unlike most independent comic book publishers in the Francophone world that promote pictorial experimentation, Echo Chamber has taken a distinctive approach, creating intersections between comic books and scientific research, technology, and the arts. As evidenced by its ambitious program and the breadth of unconventional collaborations in the fields of artistic research, disability, computer laboratories, social justice, and community outreach, this unique approach has transformed the comic book medium into a Petri dish for exploring broader ideas in politics, technology, and ethics.
- Digital Archives.
Echo Chamber encourages exploring comics beyond narrow media boundaries, disciplinary conceptions, and dominant historical perspectives. One notable project is a digital collection of conceptual comics for Ubuweb and Monoskop virtual libraries. This collection, featuring over 100 fully digitized printed works, documents recent radical experimentation and demonstrates how contemporary comic artists are informed by a heightened awareness of the medium's possibilities. By leveraging an expanding network and digital technologies, these artists can influence the socio-economic backdrop of the comic book industry through their books and publications.
- Public Program
"Futures of Comics" is an international artistic research program featuring over 50 conferences held from 2019-2023, with international guests from the Global South (India, Argentina, Slovakia, Turkey, Morocco, Afghanistan, Colombia, Serbia, Australia, South Korea, Ecuador). It aims to document and reflect on contemporary artistic practices, establish a platform for comic artists who use comics as a knowledge production tool, and map social, economic, and gender forces shaping the industry. After events in Switzerland and Italy, Echo Chamber, funded by WBI & Pro Helvetia, initiated a "Futures of Comics" project in Latin America.
- Creative Europe
Early this year, Echo Chamber won a Creative Europe grant for a two-year expanded publishing (EP) research project. Partnering with the Institute of Network Cultures/University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), NERO Editions (Italy), and Aksioma (Slovenia), the project explores publishing practices beyond traditional formats and technologies. Known by various terms like multimedia or hybrid publishing, EP aims for more inclusive publication methods. It broadens expression through inter-format connections, reader involvement, open-source tools, metadata integration, and experimenting with non-publishable arts (e.g., exhibitions, conferences).
- Frontier technologies
Echo Chamber explores the potential impact of AI technologies on comics, historically a testing ground for global entertainment industries. They have developed the first fully AI-created comic books, referred to as "synthetic comics." These comics are generated, modified, or highly automated through machine learning, using large indexed datasets. Computation is fundamental to their production, enabling new intersubjective experiences. Echo Chamber leverages a vast ontological reservoir of non-photographic images, enriched with metadata, and combines them with generative and computational capabilities afforded by the abundance of online media.
- Comics and Disabilities
Echo Chamber supports the Shapereader project, a tactile storytelling system with ideograms designed for visually impaired comic readers/creators. Promoting a bodily, non-retinal graphic experience, Shapereader uses tactility to synthesize narrative elements. This unique transdisciplinary project involves various experts and contexts, from comic industries and contemporary art museums to literary festivals, disability fairs, and worker cooperatives. Shapereader's tactile scores are also used in contemporary music and performance. The project has been showcased in France, Spain, the US, Dubai, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, collaborating with numerous cultural institutions.
- Comics and Scientific Research
Echo Chamber supports the interdisciplinary study of comics, aiming to advance theoretical and textual maturity in comic research. Recently, they published "Critical Approaches to Conceptual Comics" (ed. Pedro Moura) with Routledge, aided by FWB, with a French adaptation underway in collaboration with ACME (University of Liège) and La 5e Couche. In partnership with De Gruyter, the University of Liège, KU Leuven, and Professor Benoît Crucifix, Echo Chamber is preparing a critical anthology on integrating computational processes in synthetic comic production. These publications aim to enhance understanding of discursive forms and styles in comics, fostering innovation for artists outside mainstream commercial circuits.
