The Black & White Cat Press runs comics and cartooning workshops with children and young people aged 8 to 16 in and around Manchester.

The workshops consist of the participants being guided through the process of creating their own character, then developing and drawing a story using the character they have created.

The finished stories are then taken and printed by the the Black & White Cat Press into an anthology 'mini comic' booklet; which all the participants and there schools are given a copy of.

The span of the workshops is an arc of six hour sessions over six weeks or the workshop can be condensed into a single day. This can be flexible according to varying needs.

Comics are a useful educational and creative tool. Comics develop literacy through their use of visual cues which strengthen the meanings found in words. This in turn supports and encourages reading. The workshops give children and young people the chance to access the skills to construct and express their own narratives as well as providing a fun opportunity to explore their creativity and artistic talents.

The Press has carried out workshops recently at St. John Fisher and St.Thomas More Primary School in Benchill, Alma Park Primary School in Levenshulme and Cravenwood Primary School in Crumpsall.

The press is currently happy to be working in conjunction with the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme to deliver workshops as after school clubs to several schools in Hulme and Moss Side.

The workshops are lead by David Birchall who graduated with a degree in Language & Literature from Manchester University in 2002. Following on from this he has been a practising artist making and publishing comics for the past 6 years. During this time he has also gathered a wide variety of experience in working in educational, play, after school and youth work settings.

More workshops and projects are upcoming in the near future. If you are interested to know more or book a session get in touch via the Contact section.