The inclusion of EWK Prize winner Mohammad Sabaaneh at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) has faced pushback due to accusations that his work contains antisemitic imagery.
With less than a week until the kickoff of the 12th installment of the festival, Rob Lownie writes in UnHerd about the difficulty within LICAF board members to agree on Sabaaneh’s participation.
Last July a LICAF board member, Peter Kessler, resigned in protest to Sabaaneh’s participation due to antisemitic concerns. He pushed for Sabaaneh to be questioned about his past work during the festival, but that proposal was rejected. LICAF director Julie Tait defended Sabaaneh, emphasizing his commitment to advocating for Palestinian justice and freedom of speech.
According to UnHerd an investigation was made into the use of public funds for the festival by the Arts Council England (ACE) was instigated at the insistence of Kessler.
ACE chief executive Darren Henley responded by saying that his organisation would investigate the claims. UnHerd was told this week by an ACE spokesperson that “Arts Council England is not a regulator, but we have comprehensive processes in place if concerns are raised with us about an organisation we fund, and we can look into whether they are in breach of their funding agreement with us”. They added: “While we cannot share details of confidential concerns that are flagged to us, we have robust processes in place to make sure organisations address them.”
As this year’s EWK Prize winner, Sabaaneh is scheduled to appear at two LICAF events with the full support of the comic art festival. Again, from UnHerd:
This week, Tait told UnHerd that the current LICAF board is “fully supportive of [Sabaaneh’s] attendance”. She also stated that LICAF had been in contact with the British Council about “safeguarding all groups at the festival”. Kessler, for his part, told UnHerd that “when you see racism, it is your responsibility — especially as a publicly funded organisation that inspires others — to call it out”.
The EWK Prize was established in 2000 to honor artists who work in the spirit of Swedish political cartoonist Ewert Karlsson. The prize includes a monetary award of SEK 10,000 and a plaque designed by sculptor Thomas Qvarsebo.