Between mind and heart: what is Love? Breaking free from toxic narratives about love

Among the new features of the upcoming edition of Romics, there will be a participatory, multifunctional space inside Comics City (Hall 7), where the public will take part in a collective creative experience.

Here, a large “talking wall” will come to life: an open space where young people—and not only them—will be able to engage through questions, reflections, and opinions. Through drawings, phrases, or post-it notes, everyone will be able to contribute to a collective narrative about love and relationships, with the shared goal of finally breaking free from toxic models.

A large shared wall: a constantly evolving artwork that, over the four days of the festival, will be created through drawings, words, and reflections from visitors. An open invitation to everyone to leave a personal mark. The challenge of this edition is to open an authentic and courageous dialogue about what love truly is, and above all about what it should never be.

The chosen theme, “Between mind and heart – breaking free from toxic narratives about love,” stems from the desire to reflect on the importance of the language we use every day to describe reality, and on its fundamental role in overcoming gender stereotypes.

Love is perhaps the most used—and often misused—word in our vocabulary.

In the previous two editions of Romics, we began a journey exploring feelings and emotions through comics, graphic novels, books, stories, and words, giving voice to a project that featured prominent figures from the cultural scene, such as Fumettibrutti, Maura Gancitano, Cleo Bissong, and many others from the contemporary cultural landscape.

Romics invites you to give voice, heart, and mind to this extraordinary experiment in social creativity.

A special thanks goes to Barbara Piccolo, from Bande de Femmes, and co-founder of Tuba, the women’s bookstore in Rome, who supported us in the conception of this project.