Chichester scholar curates Belgian ‘Visionary Comics’ exhibition

University of Chichester academic Professor Hugo Frey has partnered up with the world-famous Brussels Comics Museum, where he has co-curated this autumn’s exhibition ‘Visionary Comics’.  

Working with Professor Maaheen Ahmed (Ghent University), Hugo has worked with the museum to stage a major retrospective of French language comics dating from the 1930s to 1960s.  

Hugo explained: “We have selected some of the most unusual, thought-provoking, surreal and truly weird comics pages. Everything you would not expect to find but that is a part of comics history – that is why they are visionary!”  

The exhibition at the Brussels Comics Museum runs until 7 December 2025. Maaheen and Hugo have also co-edited the exhibition’s lavishly illustrated catalogue, which has been published in English by Leuven University Press.  

The research behind the project was enabled by the unique archive of comics collected by Mr Alain Van Passen that is now held at Ghent University. Amazing art and unexpected images include fantasy landscapes, materials from war and aviation comics, as well as dinosaurs, wacky professors, and topsy turvy worlds.  

The exhibition has been curated to ‘discover’ lost classics and avoids better known works which often gain all the attention. Hugo added: “It has been an honour to work with Europe’s best comics museum and to collaborate on this unique adventure in finding hidden gems in French and Belgian comic art.” 

For more information, go to www.comicscenter.net/en/gallery/visionary-comics