The best editorial cartoons of the year: The European Cartoon Award announces its 2023 Shortlist

The European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht, founders of the European Cartoon Award, proudly announce the 16 Nominees of the 2023 edition of the contest. This year’s Shortlist includes cartoons selected among over 400 entries from more than 25 countries.

Sixteen nominated cartoons

The works of the 16 finalists were selected from over 400  coming from more than 25 countries, European and beyond, by a Jury composed of award-winning cartoonists, journalists, and experts.

Niels Bo Bojesen, Danish cartoonist and Chair of the Panel of Judges: “During the lengthy process of selection, it has been rewarding to witness the variety and mastery of the many submissions, ranging from sheer poetry to stark and striking statements – and anything in between. As always it is difficult – and sometimes painful – to have to choose from an even field, but recognising the shared capacity of the members of the Jury, I am confident we have been able to help shine a light on the high level of current European editorial cartooning.”

Here is the list of the 16 Nominees the finalist cartoons belong to:

Angel Boligán (Mexico), António Antunes (Portugal), Ben Jennings (United Kingdom), Cláudio Antônio Gomes (Brazil), Cristina Sampaio (Portugal), Emad Hajjaj (Jordan), Harry Burton (Ireland), Marco De Angelis (Italy), Marilena Nardi (Italy), Mihai Gabriel Boboc (Romania), Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Plop & KanKr (France), Raimundo Rucke Souza (Brazil), Sinisa Pismestrovic (Austria), Tjeerd Royaards (The Netherlands), Víctor Solís (Mexico).

Emanuele Del Rosso, Deputy Director of the ECA: “The 16 finalists, and in general the entire Longlist, show us so clearly that editorial cartoons are like an antibody that helps us keep our society healthy. Cartoonists point to all the problems, the pathogen agents, that attack our democracies. They point them out to us and, hopefully, help us deal with such issues. I am very proud of being part of the ECA, because we help cartoonists doing their precious job.”

The 2023 Panel of judges

The jury for the 2023 edition consists of: the winner of the European Cartoon Award 2022 Carlos Fuentes, from Cuba, Danish cartoonist Niels Bo Bojesen (Chair), Dutch cartoonist Jip van den Toorn, French journalist Catherine André, and French cartoonist and President of Cartooning for Peace Patrick Lamassoure.

Before narrowing down to the 16 Nominees, the ECA 2023 jury selected a Longlist of 40 cartoons, listed below. 

The Award Ceremony in The Hague

The Winners of the ECA 2023 will be announced on September 14, at the Beeld & Geluid museum in The Hague. The Ceremony will be part of the first edition of the ECA ‘Cartoons Day’, a one-day event entirely dedicated to editorial cartoons. 

From the early afternoon until the late evening, experts, activists, artists and cartoonists will sit together in the rooms of the Beeld & Geluid Museum of The Hague for workshops and panels, book presentations and talks. They will connect with their audience, draw their cartoons, and teach the subtle art of editorial cartoons.

After 18.30, when all the afternoon activities will finish, the Award Ceremony will begin, and this year’s Judges will present the Winner, Runners-up and Honourable Mentions on stage.

After the Award Ceremony, an exhibition showcasing the 40 longlisted works of the ECA 2023 will be inaugurated in the main hall and entrance of the museum. The exhibition can be seen until 3 December 2023.

Registrations for the event are open, at this link: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/eca-cartoons-day-2023-award-ceremony-exhibition-opening-tickets-630038300517

THE ECA 2023 SHORTLIST AND LONGLIST

ECA 2023 Shortlist

Angel Boligán (Mexico), António Antunes (Portugal), Ben Jennings (United Kingdom), Cláudio Antônio Gomes (Brazil), Cristina Sampaio (Portugal), Emad Hajjaj (Jordan), Harry Burton (Ireland), Marco De Angelis (Italy), Marilena Nardi (Italy), Mihai Gabriel Boboc (Romania), Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Plop & KanKr (France), Raimundo Rucke Souza (Brazil), Sinisa Pismestrovic (Austria), Tjeerd Royaards (The Netherlands), Víctor Solís (Mexico).

ECA 2023 Longlist

Apart from the shortlisted cartoonists above, the Longlist includes:

Ahmad Rahma (Turkey), Darko Drljevic (Montenegro), Gabriele Corvi (Italy), Gatis Šļūka (Latvia), Hajo De Reijger (The Netherlands), Khalid Cherradi (Morocco), Luc Vernimmen (Belgium), Maarten Wolterink (The Netherlands), Max Murashko (Ukraine), Michael Kountouris (Greece), Muzaffar Yulchiboev (Uzbekistan), Nahid Maghsoudi (Iran), Oleksiy Kustovsky (Ukraine), Osama Hajjaj (Jordan), Paolo Lombardi (Italy), Pawel Kuczynski (Poland), Petar Pismestrovic (Austria), Philippe Baumann (Switzerland), Sanaz Bagheri (The Netherlands), Silvan Wegmann (Switzerland), Silvano Mello (Brazil), Stellina Chen (Taiwan), Thiago Lucas (Brazil), Vladimir Kazanevsky (Ukraine).