Centre national de la bande dessinée et de l'image

Centre national de la bande dessinée et de l'image
Name	Centre national de la bande dessinée et de l'image
Established	1983
Location	Angoulême, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Type	Museum, archive, research center
Collections	Comics, original art, periodicals, manuscripts

Centre national de la bande dessinée et de l'image is a national institution located in Angoulême, Charente, Nouvelle-Aquitaine that preserves, documents, and promotes the heritage of bande dessinée and sequential art. It functions as a museum, archive, research library, and exhibition venue intersecting with the cultural circuits of Angoulême International Comics Festival, Ministry of Culture (France), and regional cultural policies in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The institution collaborates with creators, publishers, and academic partners including Hergé, René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, Moebius, and contemporary authors across Europe and the Americas.

History

The center was founded amid cultural initiatives in the 1970s and formalized in 1983 under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture (France) and local authorities such as the Préfecture de la Charente and the Municipality of Angoulême. Early collections grew from donations by figures like Hergé, Franquin, Tintin, and estates associated with Gaston Lagaffe and Asterix, while institutional development intersected with events including the Angoulême International Comics Festival and policies of the Direction générale des patrimoines. Over decades the center has negotiated acquisitions from publishers such as Dargaud, Dupuis, Casterman, Flammarion, Glénat, and archives transferred from studios linked to Moebius and Corto Maltese creator Hugo Pratt. Leadership changes connected the center to museums like the Musée d'Orsay and scholarly networks at Université de Poitiers and Université de Bordeaux.

Collections and Archives

The holdings encompass original artwork, storyboards, sketches, proofs, editorial correspondence, and periodicals from houses including Pilote, Spirou, Métal Hurlant, and Charlie Hebdo. Major named collections include archives donated by authors such as Jean Giraud, Jacques Tardi, Marjane Satrapi, Françoise Sagan (related items), and estates tied to Hergé and Goscinny. The library holds periodicals like Pif Gadget, Tintin (magazine), Métal Hurlant, and foreign titles from MAD (magazine), Action Comics, and The Beano. Archival systems reference standards used by Bibliothèque nationale de France and collaborate with catalogues at Centre Pompidou, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel. Conservation projects have treated materials by artists such as Moebius, Enki Bilal, Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, and Chris Ware.

Exhibitions and Programs

Permanent and temporary exhibitions have featured retrospectives on creators like Hergé, Moebius, Franquin, Jacques Tardi, Marjane Satrapi, and thematic shows about movements such as Franco-Belgian comics, Underground comix, and manga. Collaborative exhibitions have toured with institutions including Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, British Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The center programs artist residencies inviting practitioners from Japan, United States, Belgium, Spain, and Italy, and organizes festivals, workshops, and panels in partnership with Angoulême International Comics Festival, Salon du Livre de Paris, Le Monde, and publishers like Dargaud and Glénat. Educational outreach targets schools, libraries, and cultural centers linked to Réseau Canopé and regional associations such as Comité Départemental du Tourisme de la Charente.

Research and Education

The center supports scholarship on creators including Hergé, Moebius, Will Eisner, Osamu Tezuka, Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, Jean-Michel Charlier, and René Goscinny. It hosts seminars, doctoral supervision with universities like Université de Poitiers and Université de Bordeaux, and collaborates with research units such as Centre national de la recherche scientifique and international programs at Columbia University, University of Oxford, Freie Universität Berlin, and Università di Bologna. The research library provides access to primary sources used in studies of visual narrative, print culture, and publishing histories involving houses like Dupuis, Casterman, Fantagraphics Books, and Drawn & Quarterly. Educational initiatives include workshops for children referencing works by Hergé, Tintin, Asterix, and Les Aventures de Blake et Mortimer.

Building and Facilities

Housed in repurposed industrial and civic buildings in the historic center of Angoulême, the facility integrates exhibition halls, conservation studios, climate-controlled repositories, and a reading room modeled on standards from Bibliothèque nationale de France. Architectural interventions have involved firms and figures connected to regional renewal projects in Charente and align with urban events such as the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Onsite services include digital scanning labs, digitization partnerships with Gallica, and public amenities coordinated with local attractions like the Musée d'Angoulême.

Governance and Funding

Governance combines oversight by the Ministry of Culture (France), regional bodies such as the Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, municipal authorities of Angoulême, and cultural partners including the Angoulême International Comics Festival and major publishers like Dargaud and Glénat. Funding streams include state subsidies from the Ministry of Culture (France), regional grants from Conseil régional de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, project funding from the European Union, support from private foundations associated with patrons of the arts, and revenue from ticketing, catalog sales, and merchandising tied to exhibitions of artists like Moebius and Hergé. Management practices follow frameworks used by national museums such as the Musée du Louvre and align with archival regulations of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Category:Museums in Nouvelle-Aquitaine