Jury 25th Euro-kartoenale 'The Hat - Hats off!'

We proudly present the international jury of the Euro-kartoenale 2025 – ‘The Hat – Hats off!’. Six cartoonists and one organizer will devote themselves to evaluating the submitted works.

 

This year, the jury is chaired by an ‘éminence grise’ of the cartoon world: Luxembourg's Pol Leurs. Born in 1947, he built a professional career as an engineer. Additionally, he is a self-taught cartoonist whose work has been published in various newspapers and he has won over 83 prizes in international and national competitions, 19 of which were first prizes. He is also an experienced juror. His favourite cartoonist is the German Gerhard Glück, whom he considers an extraordinary master of humorous art. With a calm, open attitude and an eye for detail, Pol Leurs will perform his role as chair with great flair, we are certain of that.

 

Farzane Vaziritabar is an Iranian cartoonist. Born in 1987, she studied Sculpture at the University of Tehran and earned a Master's in Public Art from the Bauhaus University of Weimar. In addition to cartoons, she is active in sculpture, creates installations, and performs. She has had several solo exhibitions and has won multiple awards for her cartoons. She does not have a favorite cartoonist: "there are so many artists that I admire, ranging from renowned names to unknown cartoonists." The other jury members are warned because Farzane describes herself as stubborn (or persistent, if we view it positively) and passionate.

 

Niels Bo Bojesen (1958) is a Danish cartoonist who first studied Law and the Inuit language, then shifted his focus to studying Art at the Copenhagen School of Design and the Department and School of Visual Arts in New York. He began illustrating children's books but soon started to draw press cartoons. He publishes his cartoons in various magazines, newspapers, and news sites. He has won several international prizes f.e.  in Trento, Canada, and Gabrovo. He chaired the jury in Gabrovo in 2022 and the European Cartoon Awards in Maastricht in 2023. He strongly believes in the collective strength and diversity of the jury to achieve a successful result. Niels especially admires the work of Ronald Searle, a cynical humanist and fantastic craftsman.

 

André Nollet was born in 1946 in Wervik, West Flanders. He was a lecturer in 'applied illustration' at the Karel de Grote Hogeschool in Antwerp, where he transmetted his love of cartoons to many of his students. Additionally, he ran his own advertising agency and drew cartoons for Het Nieuwsblad, Het Laatste Nieuws, and ’t Pallieterke. He was working as a commercial cartoonist for several companies for many years and is an experienced juror. He is a fan of BRASSER and Sempé. He believes it is important as a juror to listen attentively to the opinions of the other jury members, as this often brings a surprising perspective.

 

Lise Vanlerberghe (1985) has a Master in Audiovisual Arts – Animation Film, and works freelance as an illustrator, cartoonist, and animator. She is a fan of Lectrr and Gary Larson. As a Belgian cartoonist, she has successfully participated in cartoon competitions and was a juror at the Knokke-Heist Cartoon Festival. she had a personal show in the ECC in 2021. Humor in cartoons is very important to her. She describes herself as creative, optimistic, and observant—qualities that certainly come in handy during jury sessions.

The sixth juror we introduce is Andrea Pecchia (Rome, 1972). He describes himself as a dreamer with a pencil. His artistic work is vast, ranging from logo creation to posters, from illustrations for publishers and books to satirical drawings for magazines, from sculptures to tattoos, all with a common denominator: humor. Following in the footsteps of Francisco of Assisi, he likes the definition of an artist as someone who works with their hands, head and heart. He has a preference for the work of Kambiz Drambakhsh because he manages to combine difficult topics with a light, colorful style and the use of a lot of creativity in his compositions.

 

Finally, we introduce the last juror, Ronald Vanoystaeyen. Since 1986, he has organized the George Van Raemdonck Cartoonale in Bouchout and is chairman of 'International Humour in Art,' an association dedicated to promoting humour in art. He has served on many juries for cartoon competitions at home and abroad. He describes himself as a calm observer of the wonderful world of cartoons. He keeps a low profile until it really matters and then stands up for his choice. He is a big fan of the work of the Belgian cartoonist 'Ray Gilles,' whom he has admired since childhood for his fine graphic style. However, he can also enjoy more colourful and detailed cartoons. Ultimately, it comes down to the idea.

 

 

As an organization, we find it extremely important to bring the jury members together physically to make a final selection of the best cartoons. Bringing together people with different backgrounds and opinions leads to a nuanced, transparent decision embraced by the entire jury. We aim that way for a better result, a choice that exceeds the average of individual scores.

 

In the first phase, however, the jury members will work online. Each juror will select approximately 150 works. The 300 to 400 works chosen by most of the jury members will be printed in high quality and shown to the entire jury in a physical meeting on January 24th.

 

We asked the jury members to indicate their focus during the judging. Of course, they all consider graphic quality and an original, surprising approach to the theme basic requirements. Additionally, they mentioned that it is important for them to see the punchline immediately. A simple drawing, the more direct, the better. When asked whether a cartoon should mainly be funny or convey a strong message, opinions are divided. They all dream of a winner who can combine both, but if they have to choose, about half prefer a cartoon with a strong message, and the other half goes for a humorous drawing.

 

So, expect difficult choices and discussions to determine the selected works for the catalogue, the exhibition, and the final prize winners.