Iran Daily cartoonist awarded at 6th Int’l Book Cartoon Biennial
By Sadeq Dehqan
Staff writer
Mohammad Ali Rajabi, a renowned cartoonist for Iran Daily, clinched the top prize in the “Book, Palestine, and Gaza Resistance” category at the 6th International Book Cartoon Biennial, thanks to his striking illustration of a Zionist worm attempting to ravage a book bound in the shape of the Gaza map, only to be thwarted by its unbreakable spirit.
The closing ceremony of the biennial was held on November 4 at Central Library of Tehran’s City Park, attended by art enthusiasts and officials, where the winners of the competition were announced.
The biennial, organized by Iran Public Libraries Foundation, focuses on the role of books in today’s world and the universal language of arts and cartoons in promoting book reading.
Massoud Shojai Tabatabai, the secretary of the biennial, said at the ceremony, “This year’s festival has seen significant growth in terms of quantity and quality, and more than 2,000 works from 74 countries participated in the festival, with Iran having the largest share of submitted works with 300 participants.”
He added, “The special event of this year’s biennial is related to the section of Book, Palestine, and Gaza Resistance, which, considering the conflicts that have taken place in Gaza over the past year, the Public Libraries Foundation considered it its duty to dedicate a part of the biennial to this topic, and we hope we have been able to fulfill our mission in this regard.”
In this festival, which was held with the participation of 650 artists from 74 countries, the cartoonists’ works were judged in the categories of “Book, Child, and Family”, “Book, Leisure, Happiness, and Peace”, “Book, Digital Age, and Artificial Intelligence”, “Book, Library, and Business”, “Book, Library, and Cultural and Social Hub”, and “Book, Library, and Important Social Events”. The special category of the biennial was dedicated to the topic “Book, Palestine, and Gaza Resistance”.
All the works were judged in two sections, professional and beginner (Iranian artists who have not participated in domestic and international competitions), by three foreign and four Iranian jurors, and finally, the top works were selected.
In an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Rajabi noted, “Given the diverse array of international submissions this year, the festival is poised to make a significant impact on promoting a culture of reading and resistance.”
Regarding the role of cartoons in media advertising and cultural discourse, he elaborated, “Cartoons possess a universal language that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers, communicating complex ideas through visual storytelling. By conveying messages without relying on written or spoken language, cartoons can resonate with audiences of all languages and nationalities, thereby exerting considerable influence on disseminating ideas, including the promotion of reading and the concept of resistance.”
Regarding his work in the category of Book and Gaza, he explained, “I depicted the topic of Palestine as a large book, parts of which have been eaten away by the Zionist worm, and the book binding I drew in the shape of a map of Gaza, which the worm, as a symbol of the Zionist regime, was unable to destroy the book binding and was left with a broken tooth and helpless.”
Regarding his background, he said, “As a press cartoonist, I have 26 years of cooperation with various newspapers and news agencies, including Iran Daily, Al-Vefagh, Fars News Agency, Tasnim, and several news websites, and since most of my cartoons, especially those published in Iran Daily, are related to Palestine and the Resistance Front, I am known as the cartoonist of the Resistance Front.”
Elena Rostamian, a 10-year-old winner from Fars Province, Jahrom said, “I have been active in cartooning for two years, and I participated in this festival with a cartoon about protecting children from the virtual space. In my work, I drew a boy protecting his book from online stickers.”
She also shared that six months earlier, she had competed in an Egyptian cartoon contest with a piece focused on protecting children from the impact of war, and her work was singled out for recognition with an award.