The 8th Gathering, whose main theme this year is comedy, presents hundreds of cartoons at the Mahmoud Mokhtar Cultural Centre in Cairo.

This year the event received around 500 artworks from 60 countries. The organizing committee, comprising artists Galal Gomaa, Maher Daniel, Hassan Farouk, and Samir Abdel-Ghani, selected 270 works representing 54 Arab and international countries.

The participating cartoonists come from Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Kuwait, the United States of America, India, and others.

Celebrating the late Samir Ghanem
 

The 8th Gathering celebrated the late legendary comedian Samir Ghanem (1937-2021) through several caricature portraits.

These portraits shed light on one of the most popular Egyptian comedians. Ghanem has appeared in dozens of theatre works, television series, and films throughout a career that spanned almost half a century.

He passed away due to Covid-19 complications on 20 May 2021 at the age of 84.

The comedian's wife, celebrated actress Dalal Abdel-Aziz, was admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19 complications the same month. She passed away weeks later on 7 August 2021. She was 61.

The couple is survived by two daughters, actresses Donia and Amy Samir Ghanem.

While Ghanem is the dominant figure of many works presented during the International Cartoon Gathering, his family also made some imprints on several works.

Some works bring the whole family to the canvases, presenting Ghanem and Abdel-Aziz warmly embracing Donia and Amy.

Other works showcase Ghanem with colleagues, fellow actors, and directors on the set and beyond.

For instance, a few caricatures present Samir Ghanem in a scene from Al-Motazawgoon (The Married Couples), a famed play starring Ghanem, Sherine, and others.

Among the exhibition's highlights was a caricature of Ghanem created by Syrian artist Saad Hago. His work shows the face of the comedian using a typographic approach.

Other activities
 

Besides commemorating Ghanem, the Gathering chose Spain as this year's guest of honour, showcasing several significant works by Spanish artist  José Luis Vázquez (1922-2009).

The Gathering also allowed works that address various vital contemporary issues, including the war on Gaza, climate change, pollution, artificial intelligence, the dangers of social media .. etc. 

The exhibition's opening ceremony on 12 August saw many important figures from Egypt's cultural scene in attendance, including Minister of Culture Ahmed Hano; Head of the Fine Arts Sector at the Ministry Walid Qanoush; President of the Egyptian Caricature Society Mostafa El-Sheikh; General Coordinator of the exhibition Fawzy Morsi; Cultural Counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Cairo Magdalena Kroth, and numerous artists.

Hossam Ghanem, Samir Ghanem's brother, was also present. He praised the exhibition's success and expressed joy at celebrating his brother's memory.

The opening included a performance by the Tanoura troupe and a tribute to the late artist Mohamed Hakem, who was often referred to as the Egyptian philosopher of caricature and who passed away earlier this year aged 82.

The International Cartoon Gathering is one of the most important events dedicated to the art of cartoons in Egypt. It is organized annually.

General Coordinator of the Exhibition Fawzy Morsi explained to Ahram Online that the annual Gathering aims to highlight prominent figures in the Egyptian cultural landscape. He added that a specific theme is chosen annually for each exhibition.

Morsi noted that the Gathering focuses annually on significant Egyptian personalities associated with certain themes. He cited the example of an edition of the Gathering, whose main theme was 'Music', featuring the iconic singer Umm Kalthoum. Another edition with 'Literature' as its theme featured numerous works depicting Nobel-prize winner Naguib Mahfouz. 

Morsi also recalled 'Sports' as the main theme for the 5th Gathering, which accordingly featured Egyptian football star Mohamed Salah.