The fourth International Cartoon Gathering opened today, Sunday 7 May, in the Arts Palace on the Cairo Opera House grounds. The annual event, which runs till 17 May is organised by the Egyptian Caricature Association and is held under the auspices of Egypt’s Culture Minister Helmy al-Namnam.
Khaled Surour, Head of the Plastic Arts Sector at the Culture Ministry opened the show together with Ayman Abdel-Hadi Head of the Foreign Culture Relations Sector.
Given that 2017 has been declared the year of Women, this year’s show runs under the theme of women.
According to Fawzy Mursi, Coordinator of the Gathering, 500 cartoons were chosen from among 2172 submitted by 272 artists from 64 countries. These included China, Belgium, Egypt, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
The cartoonists tackled the topic with elegance and wit. They focused on problems faced by women, such as female genital mutilation, teenage-marriage, and marginalisation of their role in the community. Their sarcastic works unveiled the injustice and oppression imposed on women in many places all over the world; the discrimination and violence practised against them by the men who usually belittle them, place hurdles in their paths to success, and make it their business to dash their dreams.
This year’s gathering will honour Egyptian caricaturist Gomaa Farahat and Sanaa’ al-Biessi, the pioneering Egyptian female writer and journalist.
Watani International
7 May 2017