MEMO’s Mohammad Sabaaneh wins prestigious political cartoonist award

MEMO’s political cartoonist, Palestinian Mohammad Sabaaneh has won this year’s EWK Award.

Speaking upon hearing the news, Sabaaneh said: “For generations, Palestinian art has been a form of resistance, a way to assert identity, document history, and inspire hope. My work exemplifies this tradition, using satire and poignant imagery to challenge oppression and advocate for peace and equality.”

“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,” he added.

“This award, renowned for recognising excellence in political cartooning … serves as a powerful testament to the global recognition of Palestinian art and its profound role in resistance and cultural expression.”

Born in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in 1979, Sabaaneh has been working as a satire cartoonist since 2002. His pictures have primarily been aimed at the Israeli occupation, but he has also scrutinised Palestinian issues. He has also published ‘Palestine in black and white’ which brings together 100 of his works, including cartoons that portray the experience of Palestinian prisoners, drawn while Sabaaneh himself was detained in an Israeli prison.

His other graphic novel ‘Power born of dreams: My story in Palestine’ was awarded the 2022 Palestine Book Award.

Highlighting why Sabaaneh was chosen as this year’s winner, EWK jury Chairman, Torbjorn Osterholm, said the Palestinian artist “has been mentioned as a prospect in our discussions for a long time… 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.”

Sabaaneh, the jury explained, “makes it possible for people to understand and form an opinion about the world around them, without having to read extensive texts.”

He will receive the EWK Award at Fullersta Gard in Huddinge, Sweden, in November.

The EWK Award is named after the famous Swedish political cartoonist Ewert Karlsson who went by the name EWK.

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