The winners of the “3rd International Cartoon Festival of Al-Quds Day” were announced by the jury of the festival, and they were honored and praised at a conference at the Azadi Tower Conference Hall.
ABWA Official Website – At the end of the international conference of “Committed Art in Support of Holy al-Quds”, the awards of the “3rd International Cartoon Festival of Al-Quds Day” were given to the winners.
In a statement read at the ceremony, the jury of the festival, consisting of Messrs. Sayed Massoud Shojai Tabatabai and Maziyar Bizhani from Iran, as well as Ivan Lira from Venezuela, announced that 566 works from 49 countries participated in the festival.
Referring to the artistic activities in various disciplines to support the cause of the freedom of the Holy Al-Quds, this statement considered the universal language of the cartoon as a pioneer in this regard and continued, “If the criminal enemy tried to silence the voice of Al-Aqsa by martyring the Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al-Ali, today dozens and hundreds of Naji Al-Ali are bringing the voice of Resistance to the world.”
The jury of the festival also expressed gratitude to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution who expressed his kindness to the selected participants.
Then, the names of the winners were announced as follows:
* Prize winners:
First prize winner: Mr. Alejandro Becares, from Argentina
Second prize winner: Ms. Izabela Kowalska Wieczorek, from Poland
Third prize winner: Mr. Mohammed Saber Sheikh Rezaei, from Iran
Winner of the Honor Prize of the Jury: Mr. Juli Sanchis Aguado, from Spain
* The artists worthy of appreciation award for “Treason of some Arab Rulers for Normalization of Relations with Israel”
Mr. Salar Eshratkhah, from Iran
Mr. Sayed Mohammad Javad Taheri, from Iran
Mr. Hamed Mortazavi, from Iran
Mr. Amir Dehghan, from Iran
Mr. Akbar Torabpur, from Iran
* The artists worthy of appreciation award for the “Misery of the Nakba Day” (The day of the establishment of the Israeli regime and the displacement of the Palestinian people):
Mr. Bahram Ali Hamidi, from Iran
Mr. Mohammad Hossein Sasani, Mr. from Iran
Mr. Ruhollah Tahmasebi, from Iran
* The artists worthy of appreciation award for the “Shireen Abu Akleh” section:
Mr. Miguel Morales Madrigal, from Cuba
Mr. Meysam Jafarkhani, from Iran
Mr. Seyran Cafarli, from Azerbaijan
Mr. Walter Toscano, from Peru
* Worthy of Appreciation for the "Young Artists" section:
Miss. Sayedah Fatemeh Ahmadi, from Iran
Miss. Melika Mohammad Ali, from Iran
Miss Fatemeh Soltan Mohammadi, from Iran
Mr. Ali Keramati, from Iran
* Special gratitude
Also in the ceremony, Mr. Abbas Nasseri was appreciated for his years of efforts to elevate committed art and supporting young cartoonists.
It is worth noting that “The International Cartoon Festival of Al-Quds Day”, started in 2014, is held every four years.
The call for the “3rd International Cartoon Festival of Al-Quds Day” was announced in the last month of Ramadan (2022), and by the deadline, more than 566 works by artists from 48 countries, were submitted to the secretariat. After the initial judging, 300 works entered the competition stage, and finally, 3 works were selected as the winners. Also, some of the works in various sections were recognized as worthy of appreciation.
The closing and awarding ceremony of this festival, as well as the International Conference “Committed Art in Support of Holy al-Quds”, was held on Monday, February 20, 2023, at Ayeneh Hall of the Azadi Tower by the Committee for the Support of the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People affiliated with the Presidential Administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the collaboration of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Al-Wafa Islamic Party from Bahrain, Nujaba Islamic Movement from Iraq, Cultural-Artistic Center of the Islamic Revolution (Azadi Tower), ABNA News Agency, Martyr Fazel Center for Strategic Studies of Iraq, and Safir Network.
The conference was attended by international figures as well as some figures of the Islamic Resistance Front, including Ayatollah Akhtari the head of the Committee for the Support of the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People, Ibrahim Al-Deilami, the Ambassador of the Republic of Yemen to Iran, Dr. Nasser Kanaani, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Divsalar, Special Advisor to the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Nasser Abu Sharif, representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Iran, Members of the Resistance Faction of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Reza Akrami, the head of the cultural council of the presidential institution, Sayed Morteza Al-Sendi, representative of the revolutionaries of Bahrain, General Sayed Mojtaba Abtahi Secretary General of “Supporting Palestine’s Intifada International Conference, Dr. Mojtaba Rahmandust member of the Academy of Art, Hojat al-Isalm Meysam Amrudi, the head of the Popular Association of Non-Governmental Organizations and Pro-Palestine activists, Dr. Hussain Royvaran Professor of the International Relations at Tehran University, Dr. Ahmad Al-Sa’di Iraqi thinker and Maziyar Bizhani revolutionary artist.
Also, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim, the spiritual leader of the Bahrain’s Revolution of Dignity, addressed the participants in a video message.
It is worth mentioning that the exhibition of the selected works of this festival is being held until Monday, February 27, 2023, in “Ayeneh Hall” and “Aseman Gallery” of Azadi Tower, Tehran.
