SpongeBob SquarePants Creator Kaz Prapuolenis to Visit Klaipėda for BLON Festival

This year's BLON festival shines a spotlight on comics, making Prapuolenis an ideal guest whose career demonstrates how the language of comics extends into animation, video games, and other contemporary forms of visual storytelling.

"Comics are often seen as a standalone art form, but they're really the foundation of many of today's visual storytelling mediums. Framing, pacing, character development, and world-building are just as essential in comics as they are in animation, video games, and virtual reality. This year's festival explores how ideas travel across different media and how creative industries continually inspire one another," says Laura Almantaitė, Festival Director of BLON.

Born in the United States to Lithuanian émigré parents, Prapuolenis studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he learned the craft of comics from Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman, creator of Maus. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and Raw Magazine, while his creator-owned comic Underworld ran for many years in newspapers across the United States.

Since 2001, Prapuolenis has worked as a storyboard artist and writer for leading studios including Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney. Over the past decade, he has focused primarily on writing for animated productions.

"Today, far more people have the opportunity to create animation than ever before. Digital technology has made the medium much more accessible, and as a result we're seeing an incredible diversity of visual styles and storytelling approaches. My advice to young creators is always the same: you can learn technique, but developing your own perspective on the world is what really matters. Read, observe, dream, and discover the stories that only you can tell," says Prapuolenis.

The 12th edition of the BLON Animation and Games Festival will take place in Klaipėda from 10–13 September, bringing together animation, video game, and digital art creators and enthusiasts from Lithuania and abroad. The programme will feature internationally acclaimed animated films, a video game competition, virtual reality experiences, workshops, talks, and opportunities to meet leading industry professionals.

Kaz Prapuolenis' participation in the BLON Festival is supported by AVAKA, the Lithuanian Audiovisual Authors' Copyright Association. The festival is funded by the Klaipėda City Municipality, the Lithuanian Film Centre, and the Lithuanian Council for Culture.