New Artist Alley
The New Artist Alley is the place to be for creative talent at Manga Comic Con. Here, artists showcase their own manga, comics, dojinshi, illustrations and creative projects to an enthusiastic audience. Whether it’s posters, stickers, buttons, artwork or self-designed merchandise – in the New Artist Alley, visitors can discover the diversity of the independent art scene and purchase your works right there and then.
The New Artist Alley is aimed at artists, illustrators and creative makers who offer only products they have designed and produced themselves. It offers the opportunity to present your own work to a wide audience, gain your first or further experience at a convention, and forge valuable contacts with fans, like-minded people and industry representatives.
The New Artist Alley is an amazing place to discover creative young artists in the manga and comics scene. The New Artist Alley is very centrally located in the exhibition hall.
The New Artist Alley is limited to 80 artists. There will be a waiting list with 20 spots. Participation and waiting list places are allocated by lottery.
Participation is only possible every 2 years: Participants who have been drawn by lot and have taken part in the convention can only reapply for participation after 2 years (2 trade fairs). This also applies if the participants were registered as a group. Participation in the New Artist Alley and the Artist Area at the same time is not permitted.
Anyone who wasn’t lucky in the draw can try again every year. With this cycle, we intend to give more artists the chance to be a part of this exciting and creative exhibition area as well as providing visitors with more variety.
Scope of services
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Exhibition space rental including stand construction (1 table | 2 chairs | partition walls | lighting) | € 327.00 |
| AUMA fee | € 1.20 |
| Basic marketing package (i.e. mandatory entry in the exhibitor directory) | € 49.00 |
| Sustainability fee | € 13.00 |
| Free exhibitor pass | 1 pass |
| Total costs | € 390.20 |
All prices plus VAT. The communication flat rate and the AUMA fee are mandatory fees without an opt-out option.
Time schedule
| Date | |
|---|---|
| 6 July 2026 | New Artist Alley open for applications: Please apply using the online form --> All applicants will be issued with a confirmation of receipt. |
| 23 July 2026 | Closing date for applications for New Artist Alley |
| 19 August 2026 | Announcement of participants and waiting list of New Artist Alley --> All successful candidates receive a link to the online exhibitor registration form. |
| 1 November 2026 | Closing date for exhibitor registration |
| 18 – 21 March 2027 | Manga Comic Con |
All other important dates can be found in the date overview (PDF, 791 kB) .
Conditions of participation
The exact conditions of participation for the New Artist Alley can be found in point 1.26.1 of the special conditions of participation (PDF, 678 kB) . The most important points are listed below:
- Participants must be at least 18 years old
- only individual artists, artist duos and trios or circles may participate, provided they have already registered as such when applying
- Multiple applications are not permitted and may lead to exclusion from the application process
- Parallel individual applications from a registered duo, trio or circle also count as multiple applications
- The stand must be manned on all four days of the fair during event hours
All exhibitors at the Manga Comic Con should pay particular attention to point 1.11 ‘Products’ of the special conditions of participation. This point regulates what may and may not be sold. The most important points are listed below:
- Copyrights, rights of third parties and applicable German law must be observed.
- The EU regulations on CE marking must be strictly adhered to.
- As there are many underage visitors, the regulations on the protection of children and young people must be strictly observed. Products that glorify violence, contain pornography or are not suitable for minors must not be freely accessible to underage visitors. In particular, adequate censorship is deemed to have been applied where explicit depictions in manga, comics or similar media are not displayed in plain view, primary sexual characteristics are fully covered at all times, and secondary sexual characteristics are not depicted in a sexualised context.
- When selling lucky bags, surprise bags, blind bags or similar concepts, please note that it must be clear to buyers from the outside what products are contained within them. The value of the goods contained in lucky bags must amount to at least 90 per cent of the retail price. Exhibitors in the Artist Area and New Artist Alley may also offer handmade products or works of art in lucky bags or similar items. In the case of lucky bags or comparable surprise packs, the proportion of each product range or product group contained within must be the same in all bags on offer. Furthermore, at least one representative selection must be displayed in plain view for visitors to inspect.
- The offering of paid games of chance, in particular raffles, wheels of fortune or similar paid prize draws, is prohibited at Manga Comic Con. However, raffles, wheels of fortune and gacha machines operating on a ‘blind bag’ system are permitted in exceptional cases, provided that they contain only products from the same product category of comparable value, such as different variants of a single product range. Blank prizes and items of a different or lower value are not permitted. Please be sure to read section 1.11 of the specific terms and conditions of participation.
- The sale of fan art is tolerated by Leipziger Messe in the Artist Area, the New Artist Alley and the Fashion District, provided that no applicable German law is violated. However, no more than 50% of the entire product range and 50% of the stand area should consist of fanart.
- AI-generated products and objects created exclusively or partially with the aid of generative artificial intelligence may not be exhibited or sold.
