The European Cartoon Award presents its first ‘Cartoons Day’, at the Beeld & Geluid Museum in The Hague

Published on July, 20 2023

On September 14, from the Beeld & Geluid Museum in The Hague, the European Cartoon Award (ECA) will celebrate its first ‘Cartoons Day’, a day entirely dedicated to editorial cartoons, made of panels, workshops and that will culminate with the Award Ceremony of the ECA 2023 and the opening of this year’s exhibition.

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One day entirely dedicated to editorial cartoons, cartoonists and to whoever enjoys this form of journalism and wants to learn more about it. This is the purpose of the first edition of the ECA ‘Cartoons Day’.

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.

Among the guests, will be the President of the French organisation Cartooning for Peace Patrick Lamassoure, the winner of the Inktspotprijs 2022 Jip van den Toorn, and representatives of human rights organisations and of the Dutch government.

The start of something important

This event was designed by the Deputy Director of the ECA, Emanuele Del Rosso, and supported by the two founding partners of this Award, the European Press Prize and Studio Europa Maastricht.

Emanuele Del Rosso, Deputy Director of the ECA: “After only four years since its inception, the ECA is one of the most important awards for editorial cartoonists. We are now able, with the help of the Municipality of The Hague and the Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek, to give birth to an event that might very well be the start of something far bigger and more important. We bring editorial cartoons to The Hague and to whoever wants to enjoy them. It is important to foster the conversation on press freedom and the power of such cartoons, because they are a powerful means for change.”

Gonny Willems, Director of Studio Europa Maastricht: “In the first four editions of ECA, we have received submissions from all over Europe. Editorial cartoons that not only hold up a mirror to Europeans and make us reflect on our own continent, but also make us take a critical look at how we treat the rest of the world. With the ‘Cartoons Day’, we are taking another step in the development of the ECA by offering a deeper understanding to everyone who values press freedom and is interested in the power of cartoons.”

Culminating in the Award Ceremony and Exhibition Opening

At 18.30, after all the afternoon activities will finish, the Award Ceremony will begin. Every year, the European Cartoon awards €10.000 for the best editorial cartoon of the past year, and assigns two runners-up and two honourable mention awards.

The winner of the ECA 2023 will be selected by a jury of five experts in the field of editorial cartoons and journalism among the 414 entries that the Award received. The judges of this year’s edition will present the five Winners on stage.

After the Award Ceremony, an exhibition showcasing the best 40 cartoons of the ECA 2023 will be inaugurated in the main hall and entrance of the museum.

For inquiries about the European Cartoon Award and the possibility of organising an exhibition in partnership with the ECA, please contact [email protected]