Daryl Cagle announces he’s going to France for an editorial cartoon festival at St. Just le Martel where he will exhibit his work and speak. What’s notable about the announcement to me isn’t his travels but his description of the festival itself.
I’ve heard about St. Just for years, and this is my first time going. Few American cartoonists go, but the international guys tell me they love it and the festival has gained quite a reputation. The little town near Limoges just decided that they love editorial cartoons and would have a big cartoon festival every year for political cartoons. They even built a big museum for editorial cartoons in the middle of a cow pasture. Families from the small town put the visiting cartoonists up in their homes – the whole town really gets behind this thing.
I’m jealous.
I grew up in a small village close to Limoges and I can vouch that the St Just le Martel festival is great. A handful of cartoonists from the Australian Cartoonists’ Association have been invited to go and the overwhelming feeling was that they had a great time.
Note that it is NOT only for political cartoons. The Festival is for “Dessins de Presse et d’humour”, i.e., editorial, political and gag cartoons.
I would also vouch for visiting the countryside around Limoges. A great, but not “touristy” part of France. Limoges is world famous for its fine china. Beautiful forests and countryside…
Just checked the local French Newspaper (Le Populaire du Centre) and it claims about 180 cartoonists will attend the festival… As usual, there will be thousands of visitors…