Cartoonists from the Middle East and North Africa will exhibit a selection of newly commissioned and controversial works in London July 1-18, highlighting key social issues in the region and exploring the role of media in society. The exhibition, taking place at the Guardian Foundation, as part of Media in Society, a project carried out by the British Council across the NENA region (Near East and North Africa), supported by the Guardian Foundation and the BBC World Service. Bringing together media professionals from television, radio and visual arts to raise awareness of key social issues, the project has successfully linked media professionals from the region and the UK and supported improved cultural awareness between the two parts of the world. The newly commissioned works by six artists (10 pieces each) will be exhibited in the Guardian Newsroom in London in July. A private viewing will take place on July 1, where an introductory speech will be given by the British Council Chairman Neil Kinnock. The exhibition and other work produced under the project will tour across the Middle East later on in the year. The works will include cartoons by Mostafa Hussein from Egypt, Emad Hajjaj and Jalal Rifai from Jordan, Armand Homsi from Lebanon, Zan Studios in Palestine, Yazeed Alharthi from Saudi Arabia and Ali Ferzat from Syria. According to Steve Bell, UK cartoonist, and Ian Wright from the Guardian Foundation, the images have the potential to contain so much more than their actual face value and that is how they light lamps. The six artists who have been commissioned to produce these works will be traveling to the UK in order to attend the private viewing and will spend a week participating in a program of activities set out by the British Council in conjunction with the Guardian Foundation. For more information, visit www.britishcouncil.org
