Annual cartoon exhibition organised by Indian Institute of Cartoonists till May 26

Politics has probably provided the best material for good cartoons across the globe. For those who believe that pictures speak louder than words, city-based Indian Institute of Cartoonists (IIC) is organising its 10th annual exhibition till May 26 at Midford House, Trinity Circle, to mark World Cartoonist Day.

Sixty-nine cartoons by foreign artists will adorn the walls of the gallery. Of these, 21 entries are from China.

“The works were received as entries for the annual Maya Kamath Memorial Awards. The cartoons have been judged by playwright Girish Karnad and the winners will be presented awards on June 2, which is the annual day of the institute,” said V.G. Narendra, managing trustee, IIC.

In the ‘Indian cartoons’ category, IIC received 114 entries, the best of which will also be awarded.

The institute, which was established in 2001 to promote the art form, has been organising the competition to promote political cartoons from India.

“Initially, the contest was only open to cartoonists from India, but the event created so much buzz that some foreign cartoonists also started sending entries,” said Narendra, a veteran political cartoonist.

Cartoon workshops and exhibitions of works by famous cartoonists are held regularly.

“We have conducted 149 exhibition till date and all big names, including R.K. Laxman, Abu Abraham, Mario Miranda and Surendra, have participated,” he said. “We are seeing a lot of improvement in quality of work. Most artists competing are on par with European cartoonists. But Indian cartoonists have a long way to go. The foreign artists use only colourful images to convey the message while we continue to cling on to words and captions. But, the art has bright future in the country and must be promoted.”