On Friday, August 25, 2023, the jurying of the submitted art pieces for the 22nd Salon of Anti-War Caricature – an international biennial event founded in 1981 – was completed. 1,008 art pieces were submitted, 427 authors from 47 countries from all continents. The international jury of this salon consisted of: Istvan Kelemen (Hungarian graphic artist and caricaturist), famous caricaturists from Serbia Špiro Radulović, Jugoslav Vlahović and Nikola Kostandinović and the journalist Miodrag Stojilović – chairperson of the Council of the Salon.
The jury decided that the Grand Prix „Vesnik mira“ (en. „Harbinger of Peace“) and the cash prize of 1.500 euros, which is donated by the International Association of Courier-of-Peace Cities, goes to the famous caricaturist Mileta Mića Miloradović from Kragujevac, for whom this is the second prize of the salon. And after thirty years, the main prize of the salon goes back to Kragujevac.
The prizes for the first, second and third place are awarded by the sponsor of the Salon – the City of Kragujevac. The first prize in the amount of 1.000 euros and the Golden Plaque Award was won by the caricaturist Mihai Boboc from Romania, the second prize of 800 euros and the Silver Plaque Award went to the caricaturist Valery Tarasenko from Russia, and the third prize of 500 euros and the Bronze Plaque Award went to the caricaturist Mladen Đurović from Serbia.
Six monetary prizes were awarded by sister cities of Kragujevac. The prize of the mayor of Bydgoszcz (Poland) went to Vladimir Kazanevsky from Ukraine, the prize of the City of Ingolstadt (Germany) went to Jovo Škomac from Serbia, the City of Bielsko-Biala awarded Liviu Stanila from Romania, the City of Suresnes bestowed the monetary prize upon Fan Linato from China, the City of Pitești gifted Nedeljko Ubović from Serbia, and the City of Carrara awarded Peshkov Roman from Russia.
The jury also awarded five Salon diplomas.
According to the jury, yet another successful contest is finished, both in terms of the number of authors and submitted art pieces, as well as in terms of the quality of the caricatures, thus emphasizing the universality of the anti-war theme. At the same time, the salon has a special mission in keeping the victims of the Kragujevac tragedy in our memories.
In addition to the awardees, the jury selected over 90 artworks that will be presented at the salon exhibition, as well as in the catalog. The exhibition of the works of the 22nd Salon will be opened on October 20 as part of the event „Bdenje“ (en. „Vigil“) in the Museum „21. oktobar“.
