6th Mahmoud Kahil Award Exhibition
Virtual Exhibition

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
Beirut, Lebanon

The Mahmoud Kahil Award program was established in 2014 under the Mu’taz and Rada Sawwaf Arabic Comics Initiative at the American University of Beirut, and aims to promote comics, editorial cartoons and illustration in the Arab world through the recognition of the rich talent and creative achievement of artists from the region.

The award is named after the late Mahmoud Kahil to honor and perpetuate his legacy as one of the leading cartoonists and caricaturists of the Arab World, and a former AUB graduate.

The finalists in the various categories of the award are selected by a panel of 7 distinguished international and regional jury members from the field and academia. The winners of the award are then honored at an annual ceremony followed by the launch of the book and opening of an exhibition showcasing the artworks of the winners, finalists and selected participants.

The Initiative’s first call for submissions was launched in early 2015, receiving an overwhelming number of artworks from approximately 300 artists and 11 Arab nations, moving up to 16 countries by the 4th year.

“The diverse range of submitted artworks, and the professional caliber retained over the past few years is exemplary of the immensely rich talent in the region, and the qualified artists working in the field.”

Artists from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Sudan, UAE & Lebanon have participated throughout the past 5 years.

The Mu’taz and Rada Sawwaf Arab Comics Initiative at AUB

The Mu’taz and Rada Sawwaf Arab Comics Initiative was launched as an academic body for the study of Arab Comics at the American University of Beirut in 2014, aiming to elevate and facilitate the interdisciplinary research of Arab Comics, promote the production, scholarship, and teaching of Comics, as well as develop and maintain a repository of Arab Comics literature.

In addition to creating and developing the Arab Comics Collection Archive at the university libraries, the initiative organizes an annual Arab Comics Symposium; the Mahmoud Kahil Award, thematic exhibitions, workshops & courses on Comics from the region, and academic research & publications on visual narratives and Comics, all towards achieving its mission. Through its activities, network and outreach, the initiative was able to establish itself as a referential epicenter for anything pertaining to Comics in or from the region.

Find out more: mahmoudkahilaward.com
Follow on Instagram: @mahmoudkahilaward
From 8th April 2021