Connecting through cartoons success stories and passion

Contents

Preface ...................................................................................................................... 3
I’ll bring the cake ....................................................................................................... 5
With Atila and after Atila ............................................................................................. 6
Azerbaijan Cartoon ..................................................................................................... 8
Cartoon Program for TV ............................................................................................. 10
An Educational Success Story - one of many ................................................................ 12
Stories about getting connected: the Gabrovo Biennal .................................................. 13
Hi Smiley Thought .................................................................................................... 16
The International Forum of Visual Humour Karikaturum – the brand of Surgut City ........... 18
The Story of Tabriz Cartoon Museum .......................................................................... 21
Museum of Cartoon Art and Caricature in Warsaw ........................................................ 22
Connecting through cartoons in Serbia ........................................................................ 24
The Egyptian Caricature Museum ................................................................................ 27
Once Upon a Toon… .................................................................................................. 30
Humour as lever to the Museum work… ....................................................................... 34
Cartoons and local history ......................................................................................... 35
Exhibition Instant Kama, drawings and movies of Kamagurka ........................................ 37

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Connecting through cartoons success stories |

Preface
The 4th Cartoon Museum Conference is all about ‘Connecting through Cartoons’.

We di d ask the di fferent museums to share t heir personal su ccess stories about t he t heme
‘connecting through cartoons’. What were moments, in the history of their cartoon museum,
they felt the museum made a difference? Moments they felt there was a real connection with
the public or with cartoonists, or with the museum team, etc.

All m useums se nt u s s tories a bout m oments that w ere significant, m eaningful, m utually
empowering or particularly effective in terms of achieved results. Results that really made
them proud.

Each story i s v ery different, b ut we a re sure t hat t hey a ll can b e v ery i nspiring t o a ll of u s
and t hat it c an h elp t o b ring s ome m ore ‘ connectivity’ i n ou r c artoon museums a nd i n ou r
collaboration with each other.

Enjoy reading it!

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4


I’ll bring the cake
If you had already the occasion to read about the European Cartoon Center or you did hear
a presentation about it, you will know that one of the aims of the ECC is not to be a dull
museum b ut t o b e a n a ctive c enter, a h ome for cartoonists a nd c artoon l overs. The ECC
wants to be an op en org anization w here p eople really f eel a t h ome. This is o nly p ossible
through t he p eople wh o wo rk i n t he E CC. T he E CC i s c onducted b y a t eam o f at ab out 1 5
people, all volunteers, from different ages, some of them where there from the beginning (in
1979) of the Euro-Kartoenale, others came later. Every team member is giving the best he
or she can, using his or her own talent, spending the time that is available at that moment.

It s eems t hat w orking o n a v oluntary b asis i s a r ecipe f or a successful co nnection w ith
others. T he ECC-team is t here b ecause t hey l ike t o b e t here, t o h ave f un, t o b e a mong
friends, to work hard and to celebrate successes, to have some amazing international
contacts, to professionalize themselves … simply because they share a passion and a dream
for the ECC. That results in a warm authentic welcome and a real interest in the cartoonists
and cartoon lovers we meet. And so it often leads to great friendships.

If your name is Zlatkovsky, Gatto, Mordillo … or you are a young starting local cartoonist, we
really treat you all the same way. We like to prepare informal lunches and dinners for you,
because t hese occasions, that r eally h elp t o c onnect w hich ea ch o ther, a re o ften m ore fun
than expensive restaurants. We take you on trips in our beautiful country (Ghent, Brussels,
Bruges, Ypres, …), and try to make you feel at home.

The cartoonist Vangelis Pavlidis wrote on his blog, after his visit to the ECC:

… But, more remarkable is the contribution of quite a number of volunteers – Saskia, Fernand, Dominique, Paul and
others whose names I do not remember but whose happy faces and hospitality I will never forget. They are men and
women of every age and occupation that have embraced this effort, cartoonists themselves some of them and several
even from nearby towns. They all work on a voluntary basis and they gain nothing more than the satisfaction of
contributing to this project.

When we contacted a historical research organization to do some research for us about the
history of Belgian cartoons, we got this prompt reply: … it would be an honor to work with the ECC that
is known as a very warm organization.

And w hen P ol L eurs c ame t o t he op ening c eremony of t he exhibition of R oss T homson, w e
did a sk h im t o s tay f or the b arbeque t he next day. We g ot a mail back from his wife Gaby
who s aid: ‘I’ll br ing the c ake!’. Sh e ma de a de licious red w ine c ake for d essert ( a f amily
recipe), because the ECC-team is as family.

So you see that connecting through cartoons is all about connecting people and hearts. We
really h ope y ou c an e xperience t his f eeling d uring y our s tay i n K ruishoutem, t hat y ou w ill
feel at home and that you become part of the big ECC-family.

Connect through sharing passion and dream, to open your heart 5


With Atila and after Atila
When I got married to Atila Ozer in 1975, I did not know anything about cartoons. We were
both w orking. A t t he evening, h e w as c onducting re search on c artoons, reading b ooks a nd
drawing and drawing. I was surprised and a little bit jealous to see his passion for cartoons.
University, academic research, classes, exams and homework were taking all of his time. In
time, I also started to get interested in cartoons and I got to know some of the cartoonists. I
decided t o h elp h im d uring my free time after school. I became the secretary: copying
paperwork, wrapping and ma iling the c artoons for competitions. During all those years we
spent t ogether, w ere f illed with cartoons and n umerous f riends. We v isited m useums,
attended ca rtoon m eetings, fe stivals and symposiums. I w as a lso t ied t o c artoons just like
him. We w ere b uying the n ewly released b ooks a nd were i mmediately examining them. He
was always thinking, planning things he could do for cartoon art and putting them in order.

In 1983 he established the first Cartoon Student Club in Turkish Universities.

In 1 984 f or t he first t ime i n Turkish U niversities h e started t o t each the C artoon C lass a nd
he continued teaching this class till his death without any interruption.

In 2001 he became a professor. We had a better and more comfortable working
environment.

In 2002 he established the Cartoon Art Research Center, which was also first in his kind in
Turkish Universities. In t he meantime, he also organized two international cartoon contests
as a first step towards establishing the cartoon museum that he was planning to open.

In 2 004 h e op ened t he E skisehir C artoon M useum a s a p art of t he Cartoon A rt R esearch
Center. The m useum was l ike A tila’s ch ild. D uring t he r estorations, h e w as p resent a t t he
construction si te o f t he b uilding, w hen h e d idn’t h ave classes. S ince i t t ook a w hile fo r t he
staff of the museum to start working, he opened and closed the museum himself and we did
the cleaning together. He put everything in the museum very carefully and paid attention to
every detail. He carried lots of b ooks, j ournals, a nd documents f rom our house t o the
museum. His friends and cartoonists welcomed his r equest w armly and donated several
books t o t he m useum. T his w as a n example of i ncredible t rust between f riends a nd
colleagues. Appr oximately 1 000 c artoons and 1200 books w ere collected i n a v ery short
time. New st aff d id not h ave an y k nowledge about cartoon a rt. Whenever A tila saw a
cartoon misplaced or fell on the floor, he used to get really upset. That’s why we started to
build up the archive on our own. I went to the university’s library to learn how to create an
archive. Atila designed an emblem for the museum. At the end of the first year we finished
archiving the c artoons and recording the books that were d onated to the museum. M y
volunteer efforts outside of t he w orking h ours were n ot very welcome for t he u niversities
community. W e e ven h eard u npleasant c omplaints a bout my v olunteer efforts. W e di d n ot
know t hat wo rking wi thout e xpecting an ything was a m istake, and we we re b oth c onfused
and very sad. However, n one of t hese obstacles h ave diminished ou r p assion f or c artoons.
Atila was a very calm, patient and faithful person. He never forgot the people who were
dedicated to cartoon art, he organized special events for them. In the meantime everything
was settled i n t he m useum a nd the museum started t o run smoothly. At ila w as planning a
new project. 6

In 2009, in order to establish a Cartoon Museums Union, he organized the First International
Cartoon M useum D irectors’ M eeting in E skisehir a nd de signed a logo f or t he me eting. This
was his fifth big project. He knew that the participation to this meeting would increase every


year. Unfortunately, he couldn’t participate to any of the following meetings of this union he
established. He passed away on April 23rd, 2011. A life which was full of cartoons between
1973 and has ended in 2011.

After h is d eath, o ver two an d a half months, I went t o t he museum as a volunteer just t o
help p eople t here a nd answer a ny q uestions they m ight h ave. H owever, there we re ag ain
complaints about my presence there. Fortunately, there were nice developments outside the
museum. T he t hird C artoon M useum D irectors’ M eeting in Z emun, Serbia, organized a n
International Atila Ozer Cartoon Portraits Exhibition and a book was published by the Mayor
of Eskisehir T epebasi M unicipality Dr. Ah met Atac. Remembering A tila O zer E xhibition o f
cartoonist Beytullah Heper, a cartoon contest among the high school students organized by
Eskisehir A rt A ssociation a nd myself, a nd with environment c artoons contest a mong
students with Atila Ozer special award.

I w atched a ll t hese developments. I c ould n ot l eave 3 6-37 y ears of my life s pent
passionately on cartoons behind me . W hat c ould I do ? I de cided t o r edesign o ur h ouse i n
which we lived with ou r c ats a s “ Prof. A tila O zer Cartoon House.” On A pril 2 3rd 2012, o ne
year a fter A tila’s d eath, w e g ot t ogether w ith ca rtoonists, j ournalists a nd a rt l overs a nd
announced t he o pening o f t he ho use. M y ni ece, D eniz C il w ho i s in a P hD p rogram i n t he
United St ates c arried o n t he c orrespondence. Everyone w ho k nows u s sa id t hat t his w as a
very good idea and seeing Atila’s books, c artoons, drawings, we d id not k now t hat h e h ad
produced this much work. I could not hang all the cartoons because we did not have enough
space. This is a work of love and passion. I could not let his work stay in cabinets. Visitors
are coming and s itting in t he h ouse j ust like guests, t hey rest and I offer them some
refreshments. They look at the cartoons on the walls. But there is a lot of work to do. I will
organize the articles written about him, interviews, letters, poster and emblem designs. I
need more time to organize all of these.

What is important for me is to make people leave the Atila Ozer House with good and warm
memories.

Vicdan Bulunmaz Ozer

Connect through never ending love, passion and courage

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Azerbaijan Cartoon
The ro ot of t he C artoon H istory of A zerbaijan t akes its p lace in v ery o ld times - XVI-XVII
centuries. One would come across with the initial specimens of this art just in Azerbaijan
miniatures o f t he M iddle A ges. T he f ormation o f t he c artoon a s a n i ndependent g enre i n
Azerbaijan coincides with the end of XIX and the beginning of the XXth century. Today with
a sense of pride I can say that “Molla Nasreddin” being the first and the only satiric
magazine known in the whole Muslim East, was published in 1906 only in Azerbaijan in the
native Azerbaijani language. It is no mere chance that more than 20 satirical magazines and
newspapers were published in 1906-1920 only in Baku city. This is considered to be a very
big indicator.

The Azerbaijan cartoon having traditions in the democratic European and Russian cartoon
school was a bridge between the West and the East. The Azerbaijan cartoon meeting has the
highest requirements of that period and using traditions of the European cartoon school has
taken t he r esponsibility of passing t his kind of art t o n eighbouring co untries. The s cientists
and researchers of the world have got enough important and significant thoughts about the
role o f t he Az erbaijan c omic gr aphics, c omic press a nd e specially t he ma gazine “ Molla
Nasreddin” in fo rmation a nd fu rther d iscovery o f t he c omic p ress o f p eoples o f Iran, t he
Middle East, the Crimea, Tataristan, the Caucasus and the peoples living along the Volga.

The m agazine “ Molla N asreddin” w hich b rought t he c artoon s chool of E urope t o t he East
again restored its publication in Baku after the collapse of Czar Russia and establishing
Soviet power in Azerbaijan. From 1922 to 1931 more than 300 issues of it came out. During
these y ears t he ch ief a rtist o f t he m agazine w as A zim A zimzadeh. T his w ell-known p erson
and great cartoon master almost from the first issue of the magazine – from 1906 to 1931 –
closely cooperated with “Molla Nasreddin”.

The h ouse w here Az im Az imzadeh w as bo rn, grew u p, l ived a nd c reated, turned i nto th e
museum after h is d eath. The memorial house set up to perpetuate this great artist’s
memory was formed according to the order of the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan Republic
in 1968.

Today t he a rtist’s 2 000 ex hibits a re p reserved i n t he f und o f t he memorial h ouse. T he
artists’ works a re c onstantly d emonstrated i n the museum w hich is s ituated in a n area of
200 m² and consists of 6 rooms. At the same time, exhibitions of Azerbaijan cartoonists, the
followers of Azimzadeh school, are often organized in the museum. Every year about 3000
people v isit t he m useum. M ajority o f t hem a re w orshipers of A zimzadeh’s creativity, t he
guests of our country, young artists and students.

On t he in itiative o f M inistry o f A zerbaijan C ulture a nd T ourism, B aku C ulture D epartment,
the U nion of A zerbaijan A rtists, t he U nion of A zerbaijan C artoonists e xhibitions,
arrangements, r ound-table me etings, r eadings a re constantly organized. A lso the
presentations of newly published books, catalogues and albums are held in the museum.

As y ou k now, i n 19 10 w e a nnounced t he International C artoon C ontest “ Molla N asreddin –
Azerbaijan” o n t he occasion o f A .Azimzadeh’s 1 30th an niversary an d i t was h eld
successfully. W e p ublished a book of 1 80 pa ges th at w ould be a ble t o shed a light on 8
A.Azimzadeh’s c reativity a nd we sent i t to m ore th an 3 00 a rtists a nd p articipants o f th e
Contest a s a pr esent. T he o pening c eremony of Az im A zimzadeh’s mo nument w as h eld in
the ce nter o f B aku i n o ne o f t he m ost b eautiful p arks o n D ecember, 2 012. A ll t his is
considered to be our respect and esteem to Azimzadeh’s spirit.


The M inister of A zerbaijan C ulture a nd T ourism M r.Abulfaz Qarayev h as r ecently s igned a n
order in connection with the fundamental repairing of Azim Azimzadeh memorial house.
Surely, a s a r esult o f a ttention g iven a nd c are t aken b y t he s tate, t he m useum will be
restored a nd its ma terial a nd t echnical ba sis will b e provided w ith new modern equipment.
And t his w ill g ive a p ush t o t he i ncreasing amount of activities and op portunities of t he
museum.

Surely, t hese a nd t hese k ind o f ex amples a re s triking ex amples o f t he st ate’s ca re for i ts
cartoonists, his productive activity and creativity and the love of the people. I consider that
today t here i s A zim A zimzadeh’s sh are i n e ach su ccess, v ictory and a chievement o f
Azerbaijani cartoonist.

Today t he i ndependent a ctivity of t he C artoonists U nion in A zerbaijan, t he c reation of “ The
Cartoon” s ection i n A zerbaijan A rtists’ U nion, t he t eaching of t he s ubject “ The C artoon
History” at Azerbaijan State Culture and Art University, various satirical magazines published
in the R epublic a nd the re cent f oundation of A zerbaijan C artoon C entre, c ertainly, s erve t o
get the cartoon genre known and to promote it.

It i s j ust t he cartoon w hich m akes u s closer t o each other, l inks o ur fates a nd t he endless
love and affection towards the cartoon. As a result of this cooperation and friendship the
cartoon g ets m ore k nown a nd better developped. T he c hiefs o f cartoon m useums a re
responsible for accelerating this process and promoting the cartoon more widely.

Surely, there are problems here too, as it is in other fields. We would like the material and
technical b asis o f t he ca rtoon m useums, ca rtoon h ouses a nd ce ntres to b e m uch st ronger.
We w ish to increase the a ttention of the state to t his f ield, t he ri se of t he n umber of
sponsors giving money for realization of new projects. But I am sure that if there is none of
them, w e w ill be f aithful t o o ur w ork a nd speciality a nd s erve t he cartoon passionately. I
believe that the endless love and affection towards the cartoon is the only factor which gives
us strengh and motivation.

I think that each of us can cope with all problems in this work which we love most of all and
will have enough strength to solve these problems coming across our path. This strength is
considered to be in our unity and love for the cartoon.

The President of Azerbaijan Cartoonists’ Union,
The Representative of Azim Azimzadeh Memorial House
Bayram Hajızadeh

Connect through history, bridges and development

9


Cartoon Program for TV
January, 2012 (Eskişehir)

Early d ays a fter b eing t he M anager of A nadolu U niversity, M useum of C artoon A rt i n
Eskişehir… When t he r esponsibility o f t he du ty c ombines with many projects and ideas for
activities in m y m ind, t hey form a si p o f w orry a nd a p iece of excitement fo r m e. Lots of
things to do, however there must be a priority in order to realize the things I have planned.
Due to this and after a brainstorming with University Rectorate, we finally decided that the
first project should be “a T.V. program for cartoon lectures”.
This p roject a ims t o c reate a “ cartoon l ecture p rogram” w hich s hall be b roadcasted d uring
one s eason i n T RT O kul ( a c hannel t hat h ad b een f ormed b y Turkish R adio and T elevision
Corporation (TRT) and Anadolu University) in order to take an interest in cartoon art and to
teach it.

January, 2012 (Eskişehir, a few days later)

After a few troublesome days when I’m about to welcome the new day, my cell phone starts
to ring. I already realize that the project I intend to form is not the hardest te st t o
accomplish in the w orld. B ut it is m y f irst t est a s a manager so i t mu st be do ne in a
successful manner. As I start to think how this program could take an interest on cartoon art
and c ould p rovide a s tarting point in ord er t o ra ise m any c artoonists’ a ttention, I b ecome
more convinced that the choice of the cartoonist for the program is really important

Back to the phone, I was surprised w hen I s aw the n umber on t he s creen. S omeone i s
calling from abroad. When I answered the phone with a bit of curiosity I heard the friendly
and kind voice that says “This is Rahim Baggal Asghari, from Tabriz”.

September, 2009 (Eskişehir)

The first time I met with Mr. Rahim was through the first Cartoon Museum Conference
performed in Anadolu University, Museum of Cartoon Art. Although I had no official relation
with t he m useum t hose d ays, m y fa mily a nd I fo rmed a n ice fr iendship w ith t his lovely
family (Mr. Rahim, his wife Ms. Mahdiye and their little girl Roz).

September, 2010 (Tabriz)

I was in Tabriz in order to represent the Museum of Cartoon Art as the Asistant Manager for
the 2nd Cartoon Museum Conference. Mr. Rahim and his team welcomed me and the other
museum managers in a very sincere and friendly manner and hosted us.

January, 2012 (Eskişehir, a few days later)

I h ear t he f riendly a nd k ind v oice t hat sa ys “ This is R ahim B aggal A sghari, f rom T abriz”.
After congratulating me for being manager he says that he wishes to support me for my
upcoming projects and shall be glad to share his experiences in cartoon art via an
educational organization. After this, I suddenly realize that all my troubles disappear that
moment. Indeed, Mr. Rahim is such an appropriate cartoonist for the project we have been 10
planning. “Immediately” I say to him “we should realize this project. Please inform me about
your possibly early arrival schedule.”


March, 2012 (Eskişehir)

It w as 1 9 March, 2 012 when I w elcomed Mr. R ahim in İstanbul and we came to Eskişehir.
Shooting t he p rogram took 3 d ays w ithout i nterruption a nd pl anned t o be screened i n T RT
Okul in Autumn Season in 2012. We constituted a class atmosphere in the studio with some
of t he A nadolu University Fine Art Faculty students who have an interest in cartoon art.
Mr. Rahim started to teach the basics of the cartoon art to the lecturers in the studio and to
the lecturers beyond the TV screen.

After t he c ompletion o f s hooting, t he t eam w as e xhausted bu t pl eased. E ven t he pr ogram
team ( director, di rector of ph otography, sound mi xer a nd li ghtner) stated th at th ey g ained
an interest on cartoon art and wish to watch the program on TV, by drawing the cartoon at
the s ame t ime. A s u nderstood, t he p rogram already started to get favorable results even
before the screen date.

Before Mr. Rahim turned back t o T abriz, w e t ell ea ch o ther h ow m uch w e en joyed t o b e a
part of t his org anization a nd s tart t o m ake p lans f or f uture p rojects. W hile leaving, w e a re
absolutely sure that we have the same feelings: The Cartoon Museum Conference was a
chance f or u s t o meet and this chance already turned into a productive organization for
cartoon art.

My first organization as a manager was something that I felt fully satisfied about. I’m proud
when I t hink h ow m any p eople t his p rogram could re ach a nd could f orm a n i nterest f or
cartoon art. I’m looking forward to watch this program on TV in Autumn Season, 2012.

Sadettin AYGUN

Connect through media, friendship and education

11


An Educational Success Story - one of many
From Sands to Comics
About two years after it opened, the Israeli Cartoon Museum in Holon undertook to connect
with on e of t he l ocal education system’s challenging p rograms: “Know Your City”. This was
done as part of the seventieth anniversary of the City of Holon.

The initial concept was simple – to connect the Museum’s content world – comics – with the
city in which it resides – Holon. The result – a graphic novel for children aged 8-10 entitled
From Sa nds t o C omics, accompanied by a complete study program and a teachers’
preparatory course on the subject.

The Museum, which considers educating for creativity, free expression, and critical thinking
as its main core components, has developed four programs designed for the local education
system:

• Childhood Project – for children in the lower elementary school grades.
• Holon is My City – for children in the higher elementary school grades.
• On I mage and S tereotypes – for j unior h igh sch ool st udents, a nd ch ildren
participating in the Personal Commitment – Community Service Program.
• Caricature and Freedom of Expression – for high school students.

We began working on From Sands to Comics together with Rami Aharoni, a native of the city
who is acquainted with its history and has written three books on the subject. Once we had
the raw material, archived photographs, and five stories describing the establishment of the
five neighborhoods that were later unified to form the city, we approached a highly regarded
comics creator and native of the city, Dorit Maya Gur, and asked her to turn the texts into a
graphic novel.

Three months later we received the illustrated pages, and realized that we were now
committed to turning comics into part of the city’s educational program. We added some of
the archived photographs to the book, and a recommended walking tour in the city.

The Museum’s head instructor, Michal Korman, adapted the book into a study program for
4th a nd 5t h gr ade s tudents, a nd t wo y ears a go, with gr eat excitement, w e pr esented th e
book and t he p rogram to t he mu nicipality’s E ducation Adm inistration. Q uite u nexpectedly,
the Administration adopted the program, and the following September 1,500 of the city’s
students a ttended a se ries o f t hree e ncounters a t t he M useum a nd p articipated i n t ours o f
the city, substituting their regular schoolbooks for a graphic novel and drawing paper.

After two full cycles of the program, we are proud to say that the children who participated
in it are acquainted with the city, continue to explore it, and occasionally come back to the
Museum to bring us their drawings and learn something new.

Galit Gaon
Chief Curator 12
Design Museum, Cartoon Museum, HOLON

Connect through history, education environment


Stories about getting connected: the Gabrovo Biennal
Our first ‘connecting’ story begins as early as 1973. Bulgaria, a country in the Socialist Bloc,
is well behind the Iron Curtain, ‘brotherly’ embraced by the Soviet Union (the USSR). The
West is satanized and capitalism, featured as a rapacious monster, is inevitably labeled as
‘rotten’.

Under t he c ircumstances of p olitical c onfrontation, on A pril 1 st, 1 972 t he H ouse o f H umour
and Sa tire w as br ought in to t he w orld on t he local initiative of a small provincial B ulgarian
town – Gabrovo. The town had already hosted nine editions of a National Humour Festival;
jokes and anecdotes about thrifty Gabrovians were told right up to Scotland; the carnival in
town had opened a new page in 1965. How easy it is to say “brought into the world…” now!
However, t here w as a m an ( Stefan F artunov, a l egal ad visor b y v ocation), wh o h ad
outstripped the time he was born in and who enjoyed the support of like-minded people and
the then town’s mayor arch. Karl Kandulkov. Fartonov managed to persuade the Communist
Party leaders in Gabrovo to launch an event under the heading International Bi ennial o f
Cartoon a nd Sma ll Sa tirical Sc ulpture. At t he t ime t here w ere b ut t hree o r f our c artoon
competitions in the world: Montreal, B ordighera, Knokke-Heist. T heir co nception w as so
appealing that it even beat the party members’ fear and risk that a similar event should be
inferred a s a n in strument o f f oreign influence. F ollowing a s election, t he F irst B iennial in
1973 s howcased 3 48 a rtists from 32 n ationalities a nd t heir 46 4 w orks. How t he o rganizers
succeeded i n a chieving t hat is a q uestion w e are still w ondering a bout – all t hat with no
Internet, no proper reference books and no computers. Except for director Stefan Fartunov,
three more people were employed to work for the House of Humour and Satire (still with no
building of its own) at the time: Petko Andreev, chief expert in Fine Arts; Veselin Vasilev (an
economist), ch ief e xpert in Cartoons and Zhulieta Meteva (a tourism graduate) who had a
natural be nt f or l anguages. T he mo tto The W orld La sts B ecause I t La ughs was in f act K arl
Marx’s thought “Laughing, mankind bids farewell to its past” paraphrased i n a li ne by
Bulgarian poet and satirist Radoy Ralin. The First International Biennal laid the groundwork
for a p ermanent exhibition Humour of t he Peoples whereas t he p articipation of artists from
32 c ountries w as t he m ost p owerful b ackup f or t he establishment of t he H ouse of H umour
and Satire and its development into a unique meeting ground for both artists and fans
separated by the Iron Curtain.

In this sense, the history of the Biennial is a veritable record of connecting – minds
and id eas - and m ovement i nto t he f uture; o f b reaking o ld stereotypes (p olitical
and s ocial a like); o f overcoming t he fear of e ncountering t he other, t he u nknown
ones from the West. As to the citizens of Gabrovo and its visitors, it was an event unheard
of and unseen!

The Biennial has had its permanent premises – the House of Humour and Satire – since
1975. The formal opening of the building was honored by the very first man in the country –
Communist P arty l eader a nd h ead of state T odor Z hivkov h imself; h is da ughter L yudmila
Zhivkova, chairperson of the Committee on Culture at the time, brought the cultural elite of
Bulgaria along with the Diplomatic Corps to attend the Second Biennial and walk around the
House.

Gabrovo turned into a Mecca of humour where artists from the East and the West could 13
meet f ace t o f ace. T he s cope o f t he B iennial broadened c onsiderably w ith t he inclusion o f
four more categories, and that makes it exceptional to the present day. As a matter of fact,
we h old, and still do, 6 b iennial c ompetitions si multaneously – for cartoons, g raphics,


paintings, scu lpture, p hotographs and posters under a s ingle h eading. T he d evelopment
strategy of the House of Humour and Satire (worked out by the museum specialists and
some e xperts i n t he M inistry of C ulture) l aid down t hat ex tensive c ollection a nd r esearch
work s hould be do ne i n a ll k inds a nd ge nres of h umour a rt. T hus, we t hrew a b ridge a nd
connected v isual w ith performing a rts e mploying h umour ( cinema, t heatre, c lownery), a s
well as w ith humoristic literature. T he r esult was t he o pening o f a n Experimental S atirical
Theatre; t he la unching o f a n International F ilm C omedy Fe stival, o f a N ational M eeting o f
Joke- and S torytellers, e tc. In a s ocialist country t hose were u nheard-or undreamt-
phenomena!

My fi rst m emories g o b ack t o 1 974 w hen I s tarted w orking a t the House of Humour a nd
Satire. I t was t he mo st a ppealing a nd e xciting pl ace f or a y oung u niversity gr aduate to
launch a ca reer, b ecause the museum offered a d irect a ccess t o i nformation, freedom of
developing d ifferent d epartments c entered on particular g enres of h umour art, the
opportunity o f establishing contacts through correspondence with artists and institutions
from a ll ov er t he w orld, the opportunity o f me eting a nd e xchanging ideas a nd e xperiences
with people as diverse as the world itself. In 1980 there were more than 100 of us employed
in the H ouse – young, e ducated, w ith a go od s ense o f h umour, a dequately t rained a nd
aspiring to ma ke p rogress a long w ith t he i nstitution. W ho h as n ot l ived t hrough s ocialism
would hardly understand us. Through the House and the Biennial we made our boldest
dreams c ome t rue – dreams a bout “ getting connected” with a rtists fr om 1 73 co untries
in the world; dreams about overcoming the retrograde stumbling blocks of political
confrontation. W e b ecame envoys o f p eace, glasnost (openness) a nd perestroika
(restructuring). We felt part of the Wind of Change! This is how personal success has turned
public!

Our 40-year experience has proven that:
- Ideas conveyed in humorous and satirical works of art can knock down stereotypes; fight
human vices; reconcile differences and change the world into a better place to live;
- To have all of the above happen and be sustainable in the course of time, it needs a well-
founded i nstitution w ith a steady state funding and strong support on the part of
sponsors and artists alike. The House of Humour and Satire has built up a network
encompassing 15 800 artists and 9 300 institutions from 173 countries in the world;
- “Workers de termine e nd r esults.” (Stalin, 1 935). T he d irector’s selection o f st aff i s
crucial! G ive e mployees f reedom to f ulfill t heir po tential a nd y ou w ill be a stonished by
the r esults. E mployees should be a ble t o ma ke pr ogress a longside t he a dvancement of
the institution. Every job is of consequence, so respect it and require respect back. T he
art of a l eader i s to build up effectively working teams able to stand up to competition.
Not the least important is the assessment of the public.
- Against all s ocial a nd political c hanges, a lternating g overnments, financial a nd other
global crises, the c hronology o f t he B iennial has remained unbroken which only
comes to demonstrate that the art of humour and satire is intransitive. More than 9 160
artists f rom 1 73 c ountries h ave t aken p art i n a ll t he 2 0 e ditions o f t he I nternational
Biennial of Humour and Satire in the Arts; 61 494 works in total have been submitted to
the B iennial s ix c ategories; a t otal o f 4 40 p rizes, 7 4 h onorable m entions a nd 6 8
certificates of excellence have been awarded;

Over the years the House of Humour and Satire has implemented some other successfully
‘connecting’ projects: 14
In 1996 and 1999 the I nternational C artoon C ompetition Fun-Loving Balkans linked 150
artists f rom t he B alkan c ountries w ith c artoon l overs i n B ulgaria at t he h eight o f a raging
war close to the Bulgarian border;


In 1998 the H ouse of Humour a nd S atire h eld a N ational C artoon C ompetition under t he
heading Europe Dreams of Bulgaria which was funded by the Delegation of the European
Commission t o S ofia. ( At t he t ime n o one i n Europe would ever wan t t o h ear o f Bu lgaria!)
The c ompetition a nd e nsuing e xhibition, w hich t oured a num ber o f Balkan a nd E uropean
countries, bonded 71 Bulgarian cartoonists with European citizens of all stripes;

In 2006 and 2008 the East-West European Encounters o f H umour Art b rought t ogether
artists from both member- and non-member states of the EU, for we are convinced that
neither countries nor artists should be divided by any benchmark - just on the contrary,
artists should be incorporated i nto n etworks and b rought c loser t o Maurice S chumann’s
great European idea. Thus in 2008 we successfully brought off the project Smile at Your
Neighbor. It involved 8 humour artists from 7 European countries who were invited to make
drawings in the open; to show a small selection of works in a group exhibition; to join a
round-table discussion on i ntercultural d ialogue a nd the rol e of humour in r ising above
differences; t o t aste t ypical national d ishes co oked b y y oung ch efs; t o a ppreciate G abrovo
dancers performing diverse ethnic dances, etc. The event was held within the framework of
a m ajor n ational p roject i mplemented b y t he M inistry of C ulture of B ulgaria a nd funded by
the EU.

In 2009 (two y ears after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU) Eurosapiens National C artoon
Competition w as y et a nother opportunity f or Bulgarian c artoonists t o c ross swords. T he
competition was funded b y Mr. N ickolay M ladenov ( former MEP a nd current M inister of
Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria). The exhibition opening and prize-awarding ceremony took place
at t he E uropean P arliament i n B russels on A pril 1 st – the b irthday o f t he H ouse of Humour
and S atire. It was a r emarkable s tory an d an example o f f orging b onds: t he initiative w as
taken b y t he p oliticians; t he o rganization w as e ntirely h andled b y t he M useum HOUSE OF
HUMOUR A ND S ATIRE; t he sh arp sa tirical pens a nd m asterly b rushes of t he a rtists
proclaimed, pricked like thorns, castigated, ridiculed and triumphed!
No, our stories about ‘getting connected’ do not end here…

Chief Assistant TATYANA TSANKOVA
Director
Museum HOUSE OF HUMOUR AND SATIRE

Connect through European unity, history and a look on the future, the need for
humour

15


Hi Smiley Thought
I guess in the world, and as far as I know in my country, some kids and teenagers want to
draw c artoons. S ome o f t hem k now th eir c apabilities a nd t alent, some d o n ot. W here c an
they go and who can they consult to draw? And again I guess in the world, and I know in my
country t here w ere a rtists w ho were forgotten. There w as a n eed f or a p lace w here p eople
could remember them. I knew that there were a lot of people who were waiting to visit these
kind of places.
Milas was the place where the famous cartoonist Turhan Selcuk was born. Milas was the city
of d ifferent ci vilizations. P eople i n M ilas w ere true a rt l overs. In sh ort, i t w as t he p lace I
always wanted.
I s hared m y th oughts w ith th e M ayor o f M ilas, M uhammet T okat. A nd w e s tarted to think
together. W e established a committee. A recently restored h ouse b ecame ‘the p lace’ and i t
was named “MILAS TURHAN SELCUK HOUSE WITH CARTOONS”.
What is in that “place”?
Free cartoon workshops
A section reserved for Turhan Selcuk (exhibition, personal items, and documentary display)
Meetings with famous cartoonists, workshops, and periodical exhibitions
Talks
National and international cartoon contests
Cartoon and Humor Library
Now, i n t hat “ place” k ids an d t eenagers f rom Milas ar e d rawing c artoons, a nd t hey d o n ot
want a grim-faced world.
Their parents are smiling.
People of Milas are smiling.
Visitors are m eeting w ith t he cartoons of Turhan S elcuk and are learning the world he was
dreaming of.
People of Milas are sending their smiles to our “WORLD”.
With my warmest smile,
Kamil Masaraci
Cartoonist

16


Let me get back to my success story. My personal achievement is to be the wife of the
cartoon master Turhan Selcuk for 20 years. I do not have any talent in drawing cartoon but
I’m a very good cartoon reader. I’m actually a chemistry engineer. I do not know if there is
any relation between having an engineering background and being a good cartoon reader.

My m ain g oal is t o p rovide a c ontinuous f low of Turhan S elcuk Cartoons t o y ounger
generations and contribute to the improvement of cartoon art as a universal mode of
communication. Turhan Selcuk enlightened the era he lived in. His legacy and works will live
forever.

In regards t o m y contribution t o t he m useum, n aturally, I h ave d onated h is c artoons,
personal items, and his archive which is now displayed in the museum. In the course of
time, the museum’s archive as well as my contributions will grow and enrich.

I’m very glad that I will get to know you and other participants.

I hope the meeting will be a great success.

Best,

Ruhan Selcuk.

Connect through workshops, contests and smiles

17


The International Forum of Visual Humour
Karikaturum – the brand of Surgut City
My congratulations! Four stars is real recognition!

What is it based on? On regularity, seriousness and quality of works selected for catalogues, and impartial
assessment of the prize-winning works. Four stars on the The international center of Iranian cartoonist
«IRANCARTOON» website that unites a lot of artists is a great success!!! As I look at the terms of the contest, I see
that these stars are the guarantee of the organizers’ integrity and quality of the works’ assessment. In short, WELL
DONE!!! My congratulations!

extract from the letter by Vladimir Stepanov, cartoonist and jury member of multiple cartoon contests.

Organization o f international c ontests e nables m useums t o e stablish m ultiple p artnership
contacts i n y our c ountry a nd a round t he w orld a nd t o i ntegrate i nto t he i nternational a rt
community. Having established the International Forum of Visual Humour ‘KARIKATURUM’ in
2001, Surgut gained new opportunities to establish cultural cooperation with almost any city
in the world.

At the start, this project was perceived as risky, daring and doomed to fail. Surgut is located
at a distance of 3000 km from the centre of Russia. Even some Russian people still believe
that brown bears wearing valenki roam our streets (why valenki of all things? they are quite
warm h ere w ithout a ny f ootwear) a nd I shudder t o t hink w hat f oreigners m ight t hink o f
Surgut. A lso, t here i s t he perception that there is nothing but oil and gas (I wonder who
extracts t his b lack go ld? be ars?). In 20 11 Su rgut h eld th e w ell-deserved f irst p lace i n t he
national rating of the most comfortable cities, conducted by the Union of Architects of
Russia.

The idea t o i mplement t his p roject i n S urgut w as r ather s pontaneous. T he m eeting w ith
Novosibirsk artist Vladimir Stepanov in 2001 was a twist of destiny. A crazy wish to launch a
new cartoon contest that was international too, was born in his workshop. Done! For the first
KARIKATURUM we sent o ut o ver 2 ,000 i nvitations, w e only h ad to w ait f or th e artists’
‘replies’. We gained our first small victory here because we stated the jury members’ names
in the terms of the contest. After we received over 1,000 replies from all over the world, the
scale of t he ‘anticipated results’ su rprised even K ARIKATURUM’s parents. It t ook a year f or
the a dventurous i dea t o b ecome fully realized and the title KARIKATURUM to be associated
with Surgut, Surgut Fine Arts Museum and international contests of visual humour.

The International Forum of Visual Humour KARIKATURUM is a contest with an open list of
nominations, with the possibility not only to change the theme but nominations and jury. It
is t raditionally co mposed o f famous ca rtoonists a nd ca rtoon experts a s w ell. We ha ve
$11,500 pr ize mo ney and n umerous s pecial pr izes. Each odd y ear we a nnounce a n ew
theme and nominations and the jury chooses the winners; each even year the main events
of the Forum – the awards ceremony and the best works exhibitions – are held. The format
of the exhibition a nd the publishing o f r esults a re n ot f ixed either. T here a re stationary
museum exhibitions, movable exhibitions in different cities of Russia and abroad, “open air
18
exhibitions” d uring c ity f estivals, “ exhibitions on w heels”, “ window e xhibitions” an d “ CITY-
format e xhibitions” on t raditional a dvertisement b anners. T oday w e c an e asily s ay t hat t he
project, experimental in its nature, has become a landmark of our museum and the brand of
Surgut.


Surgut F ine A rts M useum i s no t a “ purely” cartoon m useum. It e xhibits a rcheological
collections of I-XVI centuries, Russian Art collections of XIX - XXI centuries, Siberian Art
collection and more. The fact that contest works sent for KARIKATURUM remain the property
of the museum has enabled us to gather a unique collection of ironic art. The collection now
numbers about 600 0 i tems a nd i ncludes c artoons, ph otos, s mall s culptures a nd a uthor’s
dolls. In 2011 the museum conducted an international survey, the purpose of which was to
determine t he best ca rtoonist n ationally a nd internationally. W e se t a g oal t o a ssess t he
level of ou r c ollection. A s a re sult of t his s urvey, w e f ound t hat t he level of ou r i ronic a rt
collection is ra ther h igh; t he m useum ow ns t he o riginal w orks of 1 036 c artoonists f rom 69
countries. I a m n ot g oing t o list t hem h ere i n order n ot t o f orget a nyone a nd of fend t hem
with m y f orgetfulness. 6 c atalogues o f t he International F orum of V isual H umour
KARIKATURUM, w here th e be st o f t he b est w ere pr esented, w ere dis tributed a round t he
world.

Thanks t o t he F orum w e h ave another i nteresting c ollection in ou r museum “ The
Impressions of Surgut”, it is composed of cartoon-impressions drawn by the cartoonists who
visited Surgut. Over 70 venerable cartoonists, photographers and sculptors from around the
world v isited Su rgut t o pa rticipate i n a wards a nd o pening c eremonies. In 200 6 a nother
unusual monument “Monument to Smile” appeared in Surgut. In front of the Museum
Centre, e rected on a pe destal, t here i s a g igantic laughing f ish w ith a me rmaid w earing a
Russian ushanka – the symbol of KARIKTURUM - on its back. I don’t think that any cartoon
contest can afford to immortalize itself in b ronze. T he s culpture w as c reated f or S urgut b y
Oleg Dergachev (Canada). The monument is especially popular among the just married; it’s
a popular venue for w edding processions. The fish’s palms are polished to a shine b ecause
few visitors can resist touching its “calloused hands”. They say it brings luck.

The f ormat o f t his e dition do es n ot ma ke i t p ossible t o t ell y ou a bout a ll K ARIKATURUM
projects. That’s w hy I will o nly br iefly de scribe t he K ARIKATURUM 5 Ju bilee Fe stival. Th e
choosing of KARIKATURUM exhibition titles was an interesting task. Each project was given
its own original name according to the date and venue.

The f irst p roject KARIKATURUM: C UPID JUB ILEE started w ith th e e xhibition “ Lyubov-
morkov” on St Valentine’s Day, February, 14.

The n ext exhibit pr oject K ARIKATURUM: H EALTHY JUB ILEE was an ef fective r emedy f or
beriberi. It was held in the Clinical City Policlinic №1 and was a series of cartoon exhibitions
“The Secret of Siberian Health’ and ‘ART-tricks’.

On Apr il, 1 t he a rt mu seum a nd t wo t ransportation c ompanies l aunched K ARIKATURUM:
MOBILE JUBILEE. Cartoon exhibitions were held on bus lanes № 1,2,3,4. The numbers of
bus lanes correspond to 4 past International Forums of Visual Humour KARIKATURUM.

The airport opened its aerial gate for KARIKATURUM: FLYING JUBILEE where the “Surgut is
the capital of cartooning” exhibition was held.

KARIKATURUM: SERIOUS JUBILEE emphasized the seriousness of jubilee events. On June,
11, 2010 the final exhibition of KARIKATURUM 5, called “Passion”, was opened.

On June, 12 for the first time the Forum Awards Ceremony was held in public on the stage of 19
the State University Square. The exhibition that is traditionally held on Independence Day
was designed as exhibition rooms “on wheels” i.e. city buses bedecked with cartoons inside
and o utside. T he exhibition w as a ccompanied by w orkshops, ma ster-classes, contests a nd
quizzes. KARIKATURUM’s mascot Mikha the teddy bear, a regular participant of all Forum


events, b ecame t he real g em o f t he h oliday. T he ex hibition o f i ce s culptures “ Irony i n ice”
held in the historical and cultural centre “Old Surgut” was a New Year present for the city.
During several months Surgut was turned into a single exhibition space with its hero,
Humour, and the museum extended its exhibition areas.

KARIKATURUM is probably our city’s most successful cultural initiative.

Svetlana Kruglova,
Director of Surgut Fine Arts Museum,
KARIKATURUM organizer and ideologist

Connect through experiments, international contests and art

20


The Story of Tabriz Cartoon Museum
We had been exiled. If I want to speak outside of the usual pleasantries, I must say we had
been e xiled from an art complex i n a good neighborhood where w e h ad a thriving office to
the offenders` area. This historic building was located in the middle of a park where women
could n ot c ome a nd go w ith s ecurity a nd pe ace of mind. It was a dilapidated building and
had been conquered by addicts. Either I should close Tabriz Cartoon Association or achieved
a success from heart of this failure.

So when we went to see the dilapidated building with the art director for the first time, I felt
as if I were walking in a big museum and undoubtedly these imaginations created beautiful
images in my m ind. I c alled t he y oung me mbers a nd w anted t hem t o h elp e stablish a
cartoon museum in the east of the world and in Iran for the first time. Art directors did not
prevent our activities and we began to work quickly. Since a few years ago the building was
used as the national library, we could find several great and heavy book shelves. We pushed
them with help of 20 people and put the old shelves as a wall in the middle of hall. I wanted
the young members whose academic course was to make a concrete sculpture and I began
working with cement a nd b ricks w ith them. T hen one of t he m embers w ho knew carpentry
partitioned of f t he h all b y w ooden w alls. Of course, l ater on w e r educed t he n umber of
partitions. I n a su nny d ay, w e a ll sw ept a nd w ashed t he b uilding. S ince w e w ere not
sculptor, the statue became a little short. The older members brought lunch for us and I saw
the girls were washing the windows which had not been washed for years.

In t hose d ays, we w ere h olding t he 6 th i nternational f estival o f T abriz an d I wa nted the
award c eremony t o b e held in t he m useum a nd i ts g reat h all. W orkers w ere p lastering t he
walls. Each of the hundred members was busy in doing something. Rashid Yakali deputy of
Turkey ca rtoonists a ssociation t hat w as a guest i n Tabriz f or 6 th f estival s aid with w orries:
"Museum building works are not finished until the day of closing ceremony"… and he heard
the answer: "Will be finished…" Guests were arriving from other cities but the building
works h ad n ot still be en c ompleted. H owever, w e pe rformed t asks more qu ickly. Fr iends
from the art department came to help us. We were engaged in a real struggle. I said to my
friends I will hold so much exhibitions and festivals in this neighborhood that the
surrounding area is also affected.

Gradually, women were seen in this park. They came to museum every day and
environment was improved little by little. In the opening day of the museum the works were
completed i n the l ast seconds. Telephone w ires w ere connected, the entrance hall was
installed, p avement was r epaired an d c hairs were ar ranged. W e h ad about 5 00 g uests an d
the museum opened with the enthusiasm of people and efforts of Tabriz Cartoon Association
members. At n ight, I c ould n ot s leep du e t o p ain in my f eet. I go t s ick a w eek bu t i t w as
something like a light grove in my heart …. Now s ix y ears h ave p assed s ince t hat d ay and
the museum ha s f ound i ts w ay b ut w e n ever f orget t hose d ays t hat ex isted w ith love a nd
interest.

Rahim Baghal Asghari Baghmishe

21
Connect through hard work, social care and companionship


Museum of Cartoon Art and Caricature in Warsaw
A year has passed since I took up the direction of the Museum of Cartoon Art and Caricature
in Warsaw. It’s been a year abounding in unforgettable experiences and in important artistic
events. I h ave s taged f ive t emporary e xhibitions a nd t wo c artoon c ompetitions: on e
international d edicated to th e t opic of f ootball, a nd t he ot her – for t he “ cartoon of t he
month”, d irected t o P olish c artoonists. E arly n ext y ear w e a re m ounting a n e xhibition
featuring t he “ cartoons o f t he year”, d uring w hich w e w ill p resent all t he a warded a nd
recommended works and grant the award for the year 2012.

Our c ompetition e ntitled “ The B all is in P lay” ha d m ore t han a t housand a nd t wo hu ndred
entries, three hundred of which qualified for the final stage. An exhibition showing selected
competition works is presently on view in our Museum. It was running during the 2012 UEFA
European F ootball C hampionship, a ttracting s teady i nterest, a nd w ill c ontinue f or t he n ext
two months until September 2012.

The h ardest exhibition t o o rganize w as t he one that opened i n o ur M useum i n M arch t his
year, d ocumenting a t ragic c hapter in o ur h istory. T he exhibition, e ntitled “ Warsaw 1 939-
1944 - Underground S atire a nd th e R ealities of O ccupation in th e W orks o f P olish G raphic
Artists,” comprised more than a hundred works by artists who used their drawings as a
weapon ag ainst t he G erman i nvader. I n t he German-occupied W arsaw, sa tirical ca rtoons
raised the spirits of the oppressed nation. The works created in that period were simple and
fast, a nd t hey h armed the en emy a s effectively a s t he m ost a ccurate o f w eapons. T hose
cartoons, along with popular rhymes, street jokes and songs, have now become symbols of
resistance and of the indomitable spirit. Produced on such a scale, they were a unique
phenomenon i n t he h istory o f Europe. W e p resented d rawings w hich r idiculed t he G erman
occupying forces, as well as caricatures of the Führer of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler and his
Italian a lly, B enito M ussolini. O ther c artoons a t t he exhibition s how t he G erman n ation a s
victims of the Nazi regime.

One s ection o f t he e xhibition w as en titled “ The P resence of t he Polish Underground S tate”.
The whole event documented the existence in our country of a phenomenon unknown in all
the ot her p arts of o ccupied E urope – namely, an o rganized u nderground s tate s tructure,
continuing the activity of a state occupied and yet unconquered. In this particular section of
the exhibition, we wished to illustrate two crucial functions of underground satire, related to
its influence o n t he mo ods a nd a ttitudes of t he P olish s ociety: t hrough s atire, t he P olish
Secret State demonstrated its ongoing activity and called upon the people to resist the
occupation actively.

Another section w as de dicated t o th e li ving c onditions i n o ccupied W arsaw. It o pened w ith
drawings of the city in the autumn of 1939: houses ruined by Luftwaffe’s barbarian air raids,
the inhabitants eking out a living in poverty, the arrogant and cruel invaders.

The realistic w atercolors o f t he Je wish d istrict, p ainted in 1 942 b y a t eenage g irl - Teofila
Langnas – depict t he horror of t he W arsaw Ghetto. T his s ection of t he exhibition w as
complemented by drawings of the terror that reigned supreme in the city, culminating in the
mass public street executions that came i n the autumn of 1943 and continued t hrough t he
first months of the following year.
22
We a lso s howed extremely ra re c opies of u nderground s atirical a nd c omic m agazines.
According to e xpert e stimates, h alf o f t he 1 6 u nderground pe riodicals a ppearing in P oland
under the occupation were published in Warsaw. Visitors had the opportunity to see several


issues o f t hose bulletins, as w ell as r eproduced mastheads and t itle pages of others whose
originals we have not been able to obtain. Significantly, satirical drawings were also printed
by u nderground n ewspapers, p olitical a nd so cio-cultural titles; most frequently – in t he
magazine entitled The Democrat.

The satirical magazines printed by the underground state in Warsaw also included those
used du ring t he “ Operation N ”, a iming t o spread de featism i n t he en emy ranks b y
addressing G ermans i n a l anguage w hich they c ould und erstand. O f s pecial interest i n t his
category i s th e Klabautermann, de signed g raphically b y t he e minent P olish g raphic a rtist
Stanisław Tomaszewski, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw after the war.

The invaders were bent on continually intimidating the subdued people, on convincing them
that the Allies stood no chance of winning the war and Poland could not dream of regaining
independence. T he a ctivity o f t he u nderground, h owever, di sproved this pr opaganda. T he
chief aim of underground satire was to help Poles overcome their fear of the seemingly all-
powerful and invincible foe. The first proof of success in this campaign were the smiles on
the faces of the subjugated people when they saw the words “Deutschland kaput” on a wa ll
or a fence, or a gallows improvised on a streetlamp, with the inscription “nur für Deutsche”.
This helped them hold their heads up again, restored the faith in the ultimate defeat of the
Third Reich and in their own victory.

In order to h elp ou r v isitors r ealize t he h orrors of t he wars and oc cupation, w e
supplemented the exhibition with historical photographs from that time. We showed Warsaw
inhabitants hanged by the Germans from a balcony in the city centre and on specially
constructed g allows on t he outskirts; ol d J ews driven t o places of h ard l abor, and the
omnipresent Germans terrorizing the streets of Warsaw. The presentation was accompanied
by a soundtrack with the sound of street fighting, fragments of street songs from that cruel
time, sounds of life in the occupied city, where shooting and executions were everyday
reality.

The exhibition was visited both by young people – for whom those events are history – and
by those who took part in the struggle with the invaders, by witnesses of the war. Many
people c ontributed t heir h earts, knowledge and t alents t o t hat i mportant and extraordinary
event: a marriage of art and history.

Zygmunt Zaradkiewicz

Connect through history, resistance and human bravery

23


Connecting through cartoons in Serbia
Cartoons w ere v ery mi ghty me ans i n c ommunication t hroughout the complete h istory of
mankind. Striking examples of that we can f ind from pharaohs in Egypt or the Roman
empire until today, with the increasing importance a s w e approach t he p resent. And, as it
could be predicted, the importance of cartoons in communication between the people will be
more and more important in the future.

Just one example: from the beginning of the last decade of 20 th century, coincided with the
turbulent times in ex-Yugoslavia and in Serbia, the importance of the cartoons in
newspapers was growing, especially before the elections. The sharpest critic of the regime in
Serbia, f amous c artoonist C orax, w as s o p opular t hat on t he h uge s treet d emonstrations
against the regime in 1996 among other signs was one with the message “Corax for
president”. Corax himself was among the demonstrators, so a lot of people were able to talk
with him and to discuss his cartoons which, in those very hard and hopeless times for
ordinary people, were almost a medicine.

From the other side, public very rarely has the occasion to meet cartoonists and to talk with
them. The writers are in a better position: on the literary evenings and the presentations of
their b ooks t he p ublic can d iscuss with them, e ven n ot only a bout t he b ook, b ut a lso on
other subjects. Cartoonists (as well as painters or sculptors) only meet their pu blic on
exhibitions, and there is no chance for some closer contacts.

Cartoon m useums a re ideal p laces fo r co nnecting b etween ca rtoonists a nd t he p ublic.
Zemun cartoon museum unfortunately still has no adequate space for exhibitions and other
needs, but several times we organized specific meetings with cartoonists and their admirers,
mainly d uring t he c artoon exhibitions i n a t own g allery. Those w ere v ery i nteresting
meetings w hich g athered a l ot o f p eople, w ho d iscussed d ifferent t hemes w ith ca rtoonists.
The m ost i nteresting of t hose m eetings was on e arranged regarding a b ook “Zemun school
of cartooning”, h eld i n 1996 i n a b ig y ard of a r estaurant. It w as p resented o ver 4 00 v ery
interested p eople, a s well a s 1 3 Z emun ca rtoonists o f d ifferent g enerations a nd d ifferent
artistic stiles, and the event lasted over two hours.

Zemun cartoon museum, as we said previously, has no adequate space, so our contacts with
public are rare and limited only on exhibitions in different galleries. Of course, we are open
for all who need information, for example for the students of fine art. Some of them asked
certain m aterial o r i nformation an d in that c ase m useum l ibrary o r ar chive are av ailable t o
them. Also, we collaborated with some cartoon theoretic from Serbia and abroad, as well as
with so me ca rtoon l overs w hich a sked fo r s ome copies o f t heir fa vorite ca rtoons. B ut
generally, wide contacts and connecting with the public we do not.

Yet, one of such contacts was very interesting. Namely, one day the owner of a pub where
Bojana an d I o ften d rop, c ame i n t he mu seum a nd a sked me : “Do you know cartoonist
Apicella?”. I was really surprised: Enzo Apicella in Italy is only known by readers o f the
communist newspaper “Liberazione”, where he publishes his cartoons and in England, where
he lives, also few people heard about him but… the fact that pub owner in Zemun knows him
was almost a miracle. Well, I know a lot about Apicella because I organized his personal
exhibition in Zemun in 2000 and he was our guest for several days. I told that to my 24
acquaintance and then asked hi m how he knows Api cella. He explained me that he worked
for some time in London as a barman in a pub where Apicella often dropped, but he was still
abroad in 2000 and never heard about Apicella`s exhibition in Zemun. After all, I gave to
the pub owner Api cella`s portfolio w ith a lot of h is c artoons – the artist g ave h is c omplete


exhibition to Zemun museum as a gift – and my acquaintance spent almost an hour looking
them and discussing with me and talking me some witty stories from London connecting
with Enzo Apicella.

Much m ore co ntacts a re connecting Z emun c artoon m useum with ca rtoonists. I n S erbia
there are around 200 cartoonists and most of them have very close contacts with us. They
send us their books, albums and catalogs from the exhibitions, even some cartoons for the
museum collection. On the other side, some Serbian cartoonists asked us from time to time
to borrow them their cartoons which are in the museum collection for their retrospective
exhibitions. So, the contacts and the connecting is mainly professional, but with a couple of
Serbian cartoonists w e have also very close friendly relations and they are always ready to
help us in different projects.

After t he d ead of several w ell k nown ol der S erbian c artoonists, t heir f amilies b rought t o
Zemun mu seum a l ot o f t heir c artoons a nd b ooks, t hen s ome t rophies f rom competitions,
but also some personal things like favorite pencils, glasses etc. We accepted all that in a
purpose t o k eep alive a part of Serbian cartoon history. But one of such gifts was very
touching. Namely, the widow of our known cartoonist Daskalović, after his death brought to
Zemun m useum, a mong other p ersonal t hings, a chocolate! H e explained m e t hat her l ate
husband liked that kind of chocolate the best and that she would be happy if we add it to the
museum collection! After a short time I accepted it, so Daskalović`s favorite chocolate is
now in Zemun museum.

Zemun cartoon museum also has close contacts with a lot of cartoonists from abroad. Some
of t hem w ere ou r g uests, like t he a warded a rtists on ou r regular c ontests or those w ith
personal e xhibitions in Zemun. Others we met abroad on different occasions. T hey a lso
collaborated w ith Z emun m useum t hrough se nding d ifferent m aterials su ch a s b ooks,
catalogs an d c artoons and w ith s ome o f t hem w e a re a lso i n v ery c lose f riendship. Lo t o f
cartoonists which had personal exhibitions in Zemun gave complete exhibitions to the
Zemun museum, like Larry, Apicella, Ivan Kutuzov, Oleg Dergachov and many others.

Also, through cartoons we met several very serious collectors of cartoon books from abroad
(Jean-Marie Bertin from France, Wolf Geyer from Germany…) and with them we collaborated
intensively. The more, with Jean-Marie Bertin we made very friendly ties.

During y ears, Z emun I nternational S alon of C aricature a nd Z emun c artoon m useum
established a good connection with a lot of cartoon museums around the world. For us, such
connections are very important because we accomplished some exhibitions abroad, in
different countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Italy, Great Britain, Switzerland), as well as a
few ex hibitions i n Z emun, r epresenting m aterial f rom other m useums h ere. A ll t hose
exhibitions w ere a g ood c hance t o familiarize d omestic p ublic w ith t he m aterial o f o ther
museums. T he m ost important f or u s w as the cartoon m useums d irectors m eeting, for the
first time organized in Eskishehir in Turkey, and the third which we organized in Zemun last
year. T hose m eetings w ere a v ery g ood a nd u seful ex perience f or a ll p articipants a nd an
occasion to make better connections between museums.

Yet it is said th at t he c onnections and c ollaboration b etween m useums h ad t o b e t hrough
exchanging exhibitions, publications etc. Also, such connections could be realized through a
practice t hat e ach m useum f or t he j ury of t he c ontest i t org anizes, has t o in vite a
representative of a nother cartoon m useum. A nd, m aybe t he m ost i mportant, such 25
connections could be realized through visits of directors and other specialized staff to other
museums to familiarize with their experiences i n presentation and keep cartoons and other
materials, i n co nnection a nd co ntact with the public a nd the cartoonists a nd m any ot her
things related to the complete work of a cartoon museum. Mostly the purposes and the aims


of cartoon museums are the same and the methods of work are similar, nevertheless there
are some sp ecifics in t he wo rk an d o rganization o f each of t hem. I can s ay t hat a l ot o f
things according to work and organization I learned during my official (and unofficial) visits
to the cartoon museums in Basel, Gabrovo, Warszawa, Kruishoutem and others. Such visits
helped me to organize the cartoon museum in Zemun as well as it was possible.

Maybe t he mo st i mportant a spect of t he c onnecting t hrough c artoon i s a f riendship ma de
with a lot of different, but mostly wonderful people all round the world: cartoonists, directors
and staffs of cartoon museums, cartoon lovers etc as well as the members of their families.
From my experience, such friendships are very sincere and firm, more sincere and firm than
some other friendships based on another connection.

Branko Najhold

Director of the Zemun Cartoon Museum

Connect through communication, friendship and collaboration

26


The Egyptian Caricature Museum
After I graduated from the Alexandrian Ac ademy o f Fi ne Ar ts, I t ravelled t o Spa in in 19 78
and this is where I directly got involved with caricature. You could say that the production of
satirical drawings actually saved my life; six months after my arrival when I found myself
without money caricature came to secure my daily income.

I h ad walked around town and wat ched t he artists who were eagerly working on their
pictures and portraits on the Plaza Major in Madrid. Furthermore I became aware of the fact
that none of them was using the artistic form of caricature.

I sat d own a nd spontaneously d rew t he p erson w ho w as sitting in fr ont o f m e. A fter I h ad
finished; this stranger appreciated my work so much that he did not only pay me 10 dollars,
but also brought one friend after the other for me to draw their portraits. This is how I got
integrated into the artistic community of the Plaza Major and was able to survive for the
next six months by drawing satirical pictures of the tourists who were visiting Madrid.

As a matter of fact I had never before and never after drawn this kind of caricature.

But n evertheless I c an t ruly a ffirm t hat it s aved m y l ife. T his is h ow I f ell in love w ith
caricature a s a fo rm of a rt. A s a m atter o f fa ct, w henever I v isit a new co untry, I
immediately go and search for the local caricature museum.

In 1985 when I came back t o Egypt, I attempted to collect caricatures and started l ooking
for them. This proved to be a very difficult task as the artists usually handed their work in to
the n ewspapers a nd g ot ri d of t he originals a fter t heir p ublication. I w as scared t hat
Egyptian c aricature m ight d isappear wi thout a t race i n an y ar chive. I t herefore s et out t o
search for original caricatures and my love guided me. For over20 years I have collected
piece by piece, until was finally ready to show them.

George Bahgouri an Egyptian caricaturist stated in “Al Ahram Weekly” in 2009:

“I have been a cartoon artist for nearly half a century, and I have often dreamt of a cartoon
museum in my country. It was a dream that most of the time I managed to banish from my
thoughts, since I knew how hard it would be.

Working in my studio one day, I am interrupted by Mohamed Abla, my friend of many years.
He c omes i n, p lumps himself d own in fr ont o f o ne o f m y p aintings, and starts waving h is
hands a bout, a s ign t hat h e h as a pi ece o f n ews. “ Every t ime I s old a pa inting I bo ught a
brick,” he states.

The b ricks a re n ow a ssembled i n F ayoum i n t he sh ape o f a couple-house made of natural
clay designed by Adel Fahmy a nd do nated by M ohamed Abla. “ I will be invited to the
inauguration of a caricature museum in Fayoum not on the first of April, it is not a joke, but
on the first of March!” Abla wanted Bahgouri and a chartered bus full of caricaturists to join
him in the village of Tunis in Fayoum for the opening-day of the museum.

From the catalogue of the caricature museum:
27
“The art of the Egyptian caricature, since its rise at the beginning of the twentieth century,
has h onestly m irrored t he p olitical a nd so cial changes t hat a ffected Egyptians a nd a ltered
their characteristics. In order to understand their reactions outer appearance, interests and


relationship with the ou tside w orld, t here cannot b e a m ore t ruthful depiction than t he on e
found in Egyptian satire.

I d eveloped t he C aricature M useum t o h ouse s ome o f t he w orks c reated b y ex ceptional
artists and to honor their pivotal (at times overlooked) role in relaying the emotional, social
and political conditions of Egypt. It is in a way a sanctuary for these works so that they may
always e xist an d r emain in o ur me mories a nd n ot be d iscarded li ke t he n ewspaper o r
magazine they were printed in. The world of the Egyptian caricature is filled with as much
sorrow as it is with laughter. There are boundless stories of arrests, vagrancy and exile. The
museum is also a testament to the artists that faced many hardships with humor and a witty
repartee.

I believe that Egyptian caricature has always been at the forefront of expressing the creeds,
hopes and dreams of this society, and that the essence of this art m akes i t t he t rue
representative of the soul of modern art as a whole, being a merge between an idea and the
elements of visual art. Aside from the clarity of its objective, it is very similar to theater and
other a pplied a rts i n pr ovoking a n immediate reaction a nd instantaneous c onnection
between viewer and artist. Who among us was not moved by caricatures and forced to think
about h is o wn po sition in r egard t o t he c ourage a nd de pth o f i deas e xpressed by t hese
heroes?

I d edicate this museum t o the spirit of Zohdi El-Adawi, one of whose d ream was “the
creation of a caricature museum. “

Caricature has carried the responsibility of serving as a mouthpiece of the Egyptian national
cause from its very beginning at the end of the 19th century. And -most importantly- satirical
drawings a lready ma de a n important c ontribution t o t he f ight o f independence j ust a bout
three decades after their first appearance in a modern newspaper. Ever since, Egyptian
caricature has displayed the socio-political developments in a critical, mocking and partially
hidden way.

It continued to do so during the challenging time of the last Egyptian revolution.

Dr Eliane U rsula E ttmueller w rote i n “ Studies i n C ontemporary H istory C aricature a nd
Egypt’s Revolution of the 25th January 2011”:

“During the most i ntensive days from the 28 th of January until the 11th of F ebruary 2011 a
great number of people gathered, as we all know, on Cairo’s Tahrir Square without knowing
whether they would return home alive. They were aware of this danger and even willing to
die for the freedom of their nation. By 2 of February, later dubbed “the Battle of the Camel,”
when Mubarak had the baltagiyya (thugs) violently attack the demonstrators, everybody had
witnessed o ther p eople b eing injured or e ven k illed. C ontrary t o t he e xpectations of t he
power holders, the demonstrators were not scared off. […] In t his s o en tirely ex ceptional
situation, c aricature w as c ontinuously c omposed b y w hoever f elt like e xpressing h im- or
herself in this way. Pictorial satire had escaped the restrictive frame of printed paper. More
or l ess a rtistically a ccomplished c aricatures w ere p ainted on w alls, p rinted or d rawn on T -
shirts a nd ba nderols, a nimatedly s taged by gr oups, i ndividuals o r w ith pu ppets a nd e ven
symbolically interpreted.

Pictures of Mubarak himself, [whose image until then had enjoyed the privilege of ever-
lasting, exaggerated beauty], were no violently deformed and disfigured with a pirate’s eye 28
patch or Hitler’s moustache. Loyal to the original feature imprinted into caricature b y t he
pioneer C arracci movement a gainst t he idealism of R enaissance pa intings, t his genre came


to tear down the unrealistic, iconographic image of the never-aging Hosni Mubarak and to
finally unmask the true, evil face of the Egyptian Dorian Gray.

[…] On Tahrir Square, caricature had come to play different roles. Firstly, satirical drawings
were c oined as a p olitical we apon b y m eans o f wh ich t he p resident was f orced i nto
resignation. With this aim, people used whatever they had in order to produce satire. They
even t urned t hemselves i nto em bodied c aricatures. A y oung m an, f or ex ample, c ircled t he
square with a paper that read:”Step down my hands are hurting (from holding the banner)!”
Secondly, caricature a nd enacted satire h elped Egyptians to k eep their sp irits o f r esistance
high. Especially spontaneous parodies of the president, where one or two people performed
and the crowd c ould shout back at them, were extremely helpful for t his purpose. In order
to make the demonstrators endure the long hours of waiting and the constant feeling of
threat o n t he sq uare, artists t ypically p erformed sk etches, p oems and so ngs w ith sa tirical
content. Thirdly, banners with caricatures and satirical texts were used in order to transport
the message to the outside- back home to the family as well as to potential allies.”

The long history of Egyptian caricature will continue and so does my dream of exhibiting and
promoting this special lively art. I am also aware of the fact that we are still at the very
beginning of an enormous project which I hope -from the bottom of my heart- will enhance
the production of and the research into this field by interested students all over the world.

Mohamed Abla

Connect through politics, art and dreams

29


Once Upon a Toon…
A P ittsburgh ma n w ith r ectangular f ramed gla sses a nd a b ristly be ard ( quite a c artoon
character himself) envisioned a museum. In fact, it was not just a museum, but a
ToonSeum, w here c artoon a rt w ould b e c elebrated f or t he y oung a nd t he y oung-at-heart.
That man with a vision was Joe Wos and he is here to tell you how it all began.

“For t he p ast 2 5 y ears, I h ave b een a p erforming c artoonist a nd s toryteller, c ombining
storytelling w ith live c artoon i llustration on s tage. I h ave p erformed f or v enues t hroughout
the United States. Ten years ago I got a life changing phone call from a young man who had
seen me perform in Columbus, Ohio. The caller was the newly appointed education director
of t he s oon-to-open C harles M . S chulz M useum a nd R esearch C enter i n S anta R osa,
California. T he d irector w anted t o k now i f I would p erform a nd l ead w orkshops f or t he
opening w eek’s fe stivities. I w as o verwhelmed a nd d elighted, a nd co nsidering S chulz w as
my hero and inspiration, I immediately accepted the opportunity. A f ew months later, I was
bound for my first trip to California.

Prior to working for the Charles M. Shultz Museum, I worked as a performer and consultant
with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh for over two decades. At the Children's Museum, I
worked i n a variety of ways i ncluding exhibitions, education, events, outreach programs as
well a s a ssisting in o ther p rograms. N ow, I h ad a lready p erformed a t h undreds o f venues,
but t his w as sp ecial. This w as a m useum d edicated t o a cartoonist a nd n ot j ust a ny
cartoonist, but my personal hero. I had never met “Sparky”, as his friends, family and other
cartoonists called Mr. Schultz, and unfortunately I never got the chance because he passed
away before the Museum opened. I did, however, meet another inspiring hero, Jean Schulz.
Jeannie is to this day the driving force behind the Schulz Museum. She is a dynamic yet
modest visionary who saw the need for the Schulz Museum and made it a reality. In the
years to follow, I would come to rely on her advice and support as the ToonSeum inched its
own way into existence.

I spent a week performing and getting to know the audience, staff and volunteers that make
up t he S chulz M useum. A fter t hat w eek, I l eft o n a t our o f S an F rancisco w here I
encountered the San Francisco Cartoon Art Museum. It was then I realized I w as looking at
what c ould be t he n ext b ig mu seum mo vement in America: C artoon Art M useums! H aving
been with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh for so long, I watched as the children
museums i ndustry e xpanded f rom j ust a h andful of c ities t o a n ational p henomenon w ith
major museums in every city. When I returned to Pittsburgh, I immersed myself in learning
all I c ould a bout t he o perations o f mu seums. I me t e very day w ith ma rketing,
administration, volunteers, staff, and anyone I could who would listen to my idea.

As it happened, I had been collecting cartoon art over much of my adult life. At this time, I
had amassed a collection of over 500 pieces and I realized this collection could serve as the
basis f or a n e xhibition gallery. I decided th e be st w ay t o b egin w ould be by pr ototyping a
gallery. The Children’s Museum agreed to provide an under-utilized hallway which I could
retrofit with a hanging system and signage to create an appropriate space. It quickly
became c lear, h owever, t hat I w ould b e on m y ow n f or ra ising the f unds. I a lso k new t hat
meant that I would have to create a non-profit entity which meant giving up any ownership. 30
Around this time, the International Cartoon Art Museum was closing in Boca Raton. Mort
Walker had made s everal noble attempts at m aintaining a c artoon art museum but he had
now essentially decided to move on.


Through Je annie Sc hulz, I go t a me eting w ith M ort a nd a sked i f h e would g ive me s ome
advice. H e c onsented a nd g ave m e t he b est a dvice I h ave e very received o n s tarting a
museum: “Don’t do it.” He went on to let me know it would be an all-consuming passion. It
would alter my life, be long hours, and ultimately it would never be mine. Also, I would have
to give up my collection and my career and even then there were no guarantees it would
succeed. He then said he could clearly see I was going to do it, and wished me success. But
he prepared me, by letting me know the difficulty that would lie ahead, and sharing with me
mistakes t hat h e h ad made. So w ith my n ewfound k nowledge, I entered w ith ey es w ide
open into the adventure of starting a cartoon art museum in Pittsburgh.

With sage advice and life experience to back me, I began the process of putting together a
board of d irectors. I started w ith l ocal c artoonists, people I a dmired and respected bu t di d
not know personally. I was determined that I would not have family or friends on this board.
I wan ted t o d o i t r ight an d r eceive h onest f eedback every s tep of t he wa y. I wa sn’t d oing
this for me, I was doing this for Pittsburgh and beyond.

The b oard came t ogether q uickly. R ob R ogers, a n e ditorial c artoonist a nd f ormer p resident
of the Editorial Cartoonists Association, became our President. I worked closely with him to
build the rest of the board of directors, which was a mix of entrepreneurs, business leaders,
and artists.

In June of 2007, we opened our first exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh with
help from our first sponsor, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. The first exhibit was entitled
“From Illustration to Animation” and showed the process of turning a children's book into an
animated cartoon. The exhibit featured o riginal art from several ch ildren’s cl assic animated
cartoons including Horton Hears a Who, Charlotte’s Web, Berenstein Bears, Heidi and much
more. It also featured storyboard, cels, sketches and notes, all which came from my
personal collection. The exhibit was a success and set the standards we hold for exhibitions
to this day:

Exhibit should contain original art, not reproductions.

Exhibits should show the creative process.

Exhibits should appeal to a wide audience when possible.

Artwork should be simply framed with a white mat and black frame.

Programming should complement all exhibits.

Staff and volunteers should be able to engage guests in informative dialogue about all of the
art.

We went on t o p resent t welve m ore exhibitions d uring o ur t ime a t t he C hildren’s M useum.
Overall, it w as a s ymbiotic r elationship. W e br ought t he mu seum a n ew a udience, qu ality
exhibitions a nd w e had a place to call home. However it was not a sustainable strategy.
Without a revenue stream of admission, and the Children’s Museum’s demand to approve all
grant applications, we could not grow.
31
It was a censorship issue, however, that led us to end our time with the children’s museum,
clearly not all our content was fit for a children’s venue! It is our belief that art is an
expression of freedom of speech. So like every comic book geek, we realized there comes a
time when you must move out of your parent’s basement.


Word hit the streets that the ToonSeum was looking to move and expand and I immediately
received invites from around the country to move the ToonSeum to their cities. (A fact I
hadn’t revealed to anyone until now! But the ToonSeum almost ended up in Georgia!) But in
my heart I knew we belonged in Pittsburgh. We had built a strong support network of fans
and foundations.

After a lot of site visits and research, we moved to downtown Pittsburgh at the invite of the
Pittsburgh C ultural T rust. W e d ecided to find a private landlord within the Cultural District,
making us the only independent arts organization not renting off the trust within the Cultural
District of Pittsburgh. We had learned from our relationship with the Children’s Museum that
a cartoon art museum had to be completely independent of editorial influences from outside
the i nstitution. An d w ith gr eatly a ppreciated f unding f rom t he G rable Fo undation w e w ere
able to complete the move in 2009.

We op ened ou r d oors t o g reat f anfare a nd e nthusiasm. M uch to ou r g ratitude, t he f ront
page o f bo th l ocal pa pers c overed o ur o pening e vent w ith legendary j azz mu sician a nd
composer of the music for the classic cartoon School House Rocks. The ToonSeum was home
and guests were beginning to trek from all over the world to see our Akira Exhibition, Gertie
the D inosaur, and now over 2000 pieces rotating through our gallery. We acquired large
collections from the now defunct Cartoon Art Museum in Ticonderoga, New York, as well as
some pieces from Mort Walkers International Cartoon Art Museum.

For t wo years w e w ould b e i n ou r h umble s torefront i n d owntown P ittsburgh. A s mall g ift
shop was run by a local comic store, but again we longed for independence and growth.

In 2011 a few opportunities arose and we made two b ig d ecisions. T he g ift sh op w as n ow
run solely by the Toonseum instead of a previously independent retailer, which in turn would
increase b oth r esponsibility a nd r evenues. When t he t iming w as r ight w e w ould u se t he
revenue t o e xpand ou r g allery d oors. In 201 1 th e T oonseum a lso a dded a second ga llery
and outdoor courtyard. The gallery was named after Pittsburgh native, cartoonist and
producer Lou Scheimer of Filmation. He was best known for his work on He-Man, Fat Albert
and the Archies. He cut the ribbon using a replica of He-Man’s Power Sword from the 1982
Macy's Day Parade!

The space befits us. It is located on a culturally diverse and quirky block. Our courtyard
features three cartoon-like musician statues that predate us but fit our space well. We have
become the anchor of a pop culture tourism movement in Pittsburgh. In 2011, the much-
anticipated film The Dark Knight Rises was filmed directly in front of the ToonSeum. We had
a superhero exhibit at the time and the special guest was legendary Joker creator Jerry
Robinson. It was with great delight we welcomed Dark Knight director Chris Nolan for a visit.
It was a real highlight and no doubt with the release of Dark Knight Rises we will see even
more tourists making the pilgrimage to Pittsburgh, The Birth Place of Pop Culture! There
have been far too many exhibits, programs, guests, partnerships, and more to list here. All
of them are wonderful moments in the ToonSeum brief history.

While I l ook f orward to c ontinued g rowth, n ew e xhibits a nd e xciting p rograms at the
ToonSeum, I h ave a lways r ecognized t hat t his mu seum h as n ever b een a bout me . It i s
about our fans, our volunteers and our staff. They make every day a delight to be here. I am
surrounded not just by the art that has inspired me, but by people who inspire me. I could 32
not h ave d one th is w ithout o ur bo ard a nd dedicated v olunteers. My r ight h and, M andi
Bridgeman, h as t ruly b een a g odsend w ho h as h elped u s g row our f an-base b y l eaps an d
bounds. W e c ontinue to gr ow, a nd i n 2 013 w e w ill be h onored to host th e National
Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards, the first time our city has hosted in the NCS’s almost 70


year history. We have also taken a lead role in hosting a US Cartoon Museum Conference in
Pittsburgh in late 2012 (Inspired by my participation in this conference!)

As M ort W alker warned m e, t here would b e g reat p ersonal s acrifice, b ut n ot a m inute of
regret. I l ook f orward t o t he c oming y ears o f new exhibitions, n ew fans, n ew f riends a nd
new collaborations.

And perhaps… an exhibition or two of ours touring the world. But that is up to all of you.

Joe Wos

Connect through heroes, exhibitions and courage

33


Humour as lever to the Museum work…
The P ortoCartoon was a s mall a dventure i n t he g reat a dventure o f t he P ortuguese P rinting
Press Museum. At the museum’s inauguration in 1997, the Portuguese President Jorge
Sampaio a sked a bout t he c apacity o f t he m useum t o o rganize ev ery year a f estival o f t his
magnitude. Would t his b e t oo m uch a udacious? - He a sked m e. It m ay b e, I said. T he
museum i tself h as t he mark of courage. S o l et's s ee h ow t he c artoonists a round t he w orld
will answer our call. They will have the answer.

My c alm r esponse h id s ome f ear. W e knew t hat o ther f estivals a nd competitions w ere w ell
established in some countries. We knew that space was not that wide for PortoCartoon, but
daring do esn’t c ost a th ing. We h ad d one a s urvey o f t he existing initiatives a nd t heir
features. R ight f rom t he be ginning w e chose to have an international strong theme as a
distinctive feature, together with other aspects that proved to make the difference we
wanted to take on the valorisation of the cartoon as a kind of journalistic intervention.

This was a feature that we assume si nce t he b eginning: t he ca rtoon is a j ournalistic st yle.
Since t he fi rst ca talogue t his w as m arked, even t hough k nowing t hat t he J ournalism
manuals do not assume this... This is one of the main reasons for the close relationship
between a p rinting p ress m useum a nd a p ermanent s pace f or c artoons. The International
Cartoon Gallery is certainly one of the few places in the world of graphic humour that is daily
open: 365 days/year. Or 366, as 2012 is a leap year!

In these few years of PortoCartoon and International Cartoon Gallery existence, the humour
has served as a lever to the Museum work. It has been spread either by the city of Porto, or
by other Portuguese and foreign cities. This humour brings and takes stories with it.

Later, i n 1 999, t here was also another story with the same Portuguese President, at the
inauguration of the International Cartoon Gallery. The spongy ground, the little lighting and
the sensors caused some fear and hesitation at the entrance. The President Jorge Sampaio
hesitated, but s oon m oved f orward a nd found h imself in a d istortion m irror o f a uto-
caricature, a nd e njoyed se eing h imself distorted in different w ays. U nlike a lady w ho st ood
beside him and said "oh what a fear!". She turned back and was never seen again. Humour
can also be scary!!!

The idea that humour can scare is more present in its relationship with power. Since ever
cartoons frighten the powerful. Since before Daumier and also after him. This is one of the
virtues of his intervention. Humour is one of the few truths, proud and serious in the world
of unbelief, untruth and inhumanity.

Luís Humberto Marcos
Cartoon Virtual Museum
34

Connect through press, adventure and courage


Cartoons and local history
Het Markiezenhof, museum and archives Bergen op Zoom

Het Markiezenhof is the oldest town palace in the Netherlands. It was originally built in the
late 15th century. Nowadays Het Markiezenhof is a museum and it houses the municipal
archives. The museum focuses on the history of the town and region, the history of the
fairground and on exhibitions of international political cartoons since 1900.

Museum of international political cartoons

New exhibitions regularly take place where well-known and less well-known political
cartoons are displayed. Moreover Het Markiezenhof offers a forum for international political
cartoonists.

Cartoon festival

The Dutch Cartoon Festival takes place every two years. This festival is centred on a main
contemporary theme. The hundred best cartoons are on show in Het Markiezenhof.

Cartoonists from all over the world are invited to participate in this international contest. We
ensure the publicity and publish the cartoon book with the 100 best cartoons which are
exhibited in the museum.

Collection of international political cartoons

The museum plays a role in the recognition of political cartoons as valid artistic registration
of important political and social topics. Het Markiezenhof not only organizes exhibitions; it
also maintains a collection of international political cartoons from 1900 onwards and has
built up a large collection.

Temporary exhibition

CarTOENs, vijftig momenten uit de geschiedenis van Bergen op Zoom (50 moments out of
our town’s history)

The initial idea for this exhibition is the 800th anniversary of the city of Bergen op Zoom.

Cartoons are showing in a playful manner the history of the city.
In this exhibition, we work with the best political cartoonists of the Netherlands. There is
also a close cooperation with schools in the region, who are involved in this project

We have worked together with teachers, lectures and the foundation Pers & Prent. With this
exhibition we had the attention of different newspapers, they published an article about the
unique occasion. 35

We have published a cartoon book, this book is sold through the bookshops of Bergen op
Zoom and the Tourist Office. In the booklet CarTOENs is a drawing of an 11 year old boy,
who’s dream is to become a real cartoonist one day. One of the participating artists is his


great example. The Exhibition CarTOENs attracts a wide audience, what makes it so
successful. The exhibition includes not only drawings of artists but also from pupils of
primary schools. By connecting the different groups, we hope to create a beautiful and
instructive exhibition.

Connect through humor, history and contests

36


Connecting through cartoons success stories and passion

Connecting through cartoons success stories and passion

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