Live Comic Illustration Night with Melek Zertal

This September, Franco-Algerian illustrator Melek Zertal — known for her sensitive lines and soft pastel tones — will bring her pencils be in Finland for the Helsinki Comics Festival. On September 18, she invites you to step into her world during a live drawing session at the French Institute. 

During this event, Melek Zertal will reveal her creative process live with the help of a projector. She’ll draw in front of the audience while sharing insights into her style, the themes that inspire her, and how she crafts panels that are at once gentle, sensitive, and powerful. The performance will be followed by a book signing session. 

Free entry upon reservation – we’re looking forward to seeing you! 

P.S. You can also explore Melek Zertal’s world from September 8 to 21 at the Oodi Library, through her exhibition “Next, Please,” inspired by the final part of her trilogy titled “Colorama.” And if you can’t make it to the live drawing session at the Institut on September 18, don’t worry — the artist will also take part in a public interview at the Helsinki Comics Festival on Saturday, September 20 at noon. 

Melek Zertal is an illustrator and comic book author known for her contemplative and sensitive storytelling—filled with silences, suspended moments, and unfinished loves. Her images express what words cannot. She has collaborated with The New York Times, Gucci, The New Yorker, and published with Colorama (Germany), Perfectly Acceptable Press (USA), Fidèle Éditions (France), and Lystring (Sweden).