Sweden's EWK Award of 2024 has been awarded to to the Palestinian political cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh, who will be a guest of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in September.
The annual EWK Award of SEK 10,000 was established in the year of 2000 and is granted to artists who are working in the spirit of EWK. The award is currently distributed by The EWK Society, in cooperation with Fullersta Gård and the Museum of Work. Former recipients are, among others, Liv Strömquist, Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro, and Robert Nyberg.
“This prize is not for me, it is for all Palestinians”, the artist says. "I am thrilled to be announced as the winner of the prestigious EWK Prize for 2024. This award, renowned for recognising excellence in political cartooning, marks a significant milestone in my career and serves as a powerful testament to the global recognition of Palestinian art and its profound role in resistance and cultural expression."
Mohammad Sabaaneh was born in 1979 in Jenin on the West Bank and has been working as a satire cartoonist since 2002. His recent work has primarily been aimed at the Israeli occupation, but, like his predecessor Naji Al-Ali, he has also scrutinised Palestinian issues, and has also sometimes been censored in Palestinian media.
Sabaaneh had his major breakthrough with the publication of the book Black and White: Political Cartoons from Palestine with pictures from his time in an Israeli prison. His following graphic novel, Power Born of Dreams, has been described as “An artistic triumph that will stand as an enduring testament to the spirit of the Palestinian people” and was awarded with the 2022 Palestine Book Award.
"Sabaaneh has been mentioned as a prospect in our discussions for a long time," says Torbjörn Österholm, chairman of the EWK jury. "Now his name has become especially relevant, when the eyes of the world are turned on Palestine, Israel, and Hamas, and the atrocities that are committed there."
Like the drawings of Swedish cartoonist EWK, Sabaaneh’s pictures are almost free from text, which makes them universal and open to interpretation, even for people who are less aware of the current political situation that the artist depicts. The pictures themselves are straightforward and clear-cut, with a mixture of sharp observation skill and sympathy for the victims.
"For generations, Palestinian art has been a form of resistance, a way to assert identity, document history, and inspire hope," Sabaaneh says. "My work exemplifies this tradition, using satire and poignant imagery to challenge oppression and advocate for peace and equality. The international acknowledgment provided by the EWK Prize amplifies these messages, ensuring they reach a wider audience and fostering greater understanding and solidarity worldwide. This Prize is not for me, it is for all Palestinians in Palestine where they are facing the atrocity that also impacts art, culture, and narrative."
Mohammad Sabaaneh will receive the EWK Award at Fullersta Gård in Huddinge, Sweden in November.
"With his satire drawings, Mohammad Sabaaneh makes it possible for people to understand and form an opinion about the world around them, without having to read extensive texts," the EWK Jury says of their decision. "With his drawings in the printed media, exhibitions, and books, he shares his knowledge about what is happening in a troubled society. Through his dedicated involvement in political cartooning, Sabaaneh has garnered considerable attention in many parts of the world."
Mohammad Sabaaneh's cartoons have been published in the national Palestinian newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. He has a Master of Illustration from the University of Creative Arts (UCA) in the United Kingdom. In addition to his media work, Sabaaneh educates students at the Palestinian university Al-Najah, as well as children and young people, in critical thinking and picture analysis.
His pictures have won several awards, among others the Marseille International Cartoon Festival Prix d’Or 2017, and now, the finest satire prize in Sweden, The EWK Award.
An Honourable Mention to “Tecknaruppropet” – The Cartoonists’ Petition
In connection with the announcement of Mohammad Sabaaneh as the winner of the EWK Award of 2024, the EWK Society and their partners in the EWK Award committee also gave an honourable mention of the Swedish initiative, “Tecknaruppropet” ("The Cartoonists’ Petition").
On 26th March 2022, The Cartoonists’ Petition published their first satirical drawing on Instagram with the title “The Cartoonists’ Petition: Moment 2022
– No to Nuclear Weapons. No to NATO.” Then, there were about seventy participating artists; today, they are more than two hundred.
The EWK Award Jury, the EWK Society, the Museum of Work, and Fullersta Gård, together with Margareta van den Bosch, daughter of EWK, wanted to call attention to The Cartoonists’ Petition as being the most important event in the world of Swedish satire in several decades. In addition to gathering more than two hundred artists, who are all participating in the Swedish political debate with satirical cartoons, they have started a new satire magazine, LARM (“Alert”), with no counterpart in Sweden since the beginning of the last century. In their work, The Cartoonists’ Petition scrutinise how Swdish elected representatives handle their citizens’ trust regarding the issues of NATO and nuclear weapons.
With this honourable mention, the Society want to emphasise how the members of The Cartoonists’ Petition honour the memory of Ewert Karlsson, EWK, who without doubt would have been proud and taken part in the initiative.
