World Press Freedom Day Celebration 2025

On May 5 many DC area cartoonists gathered to celebrate World Press Freedom Day with a panel of legendary cartoonists out on the front lines of free speech — and for the announcement of the 2025 Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award by Cartoonists Rights.

The award was given to Zehra Ömeroğlu, a Turkish cartoonist who appeared on screen via pre-recorded video. She has been the target of criminal prosecution for a pandemic sex humor cartoon published in 2020 and faces a three year prison sentence (to give you an idea of the content think about a loss of taste and smell joke). I was surprised to not know about this cartoon and the cartoonist's work/life impact... until five years later and it's still going on.

Panel participants included Barry Blitt (The New Yorker) Kevin "KAL" Kallaugher (The Economist), Joel Pett (Tribune Content Agency), and Signe Wilkinson (Philadelphia Inquirer). The moderator was Roslyn Mazer (SU Alumna and Free Expression Champion).

Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) delivered a keynote address.

Event sponsored by: Cartoonists Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom Cartoonists, The Herb Block Foundation

Cartoonists Draw Blood Art Exhibit

This coming Thursday, July 7, 2016 everyone is invited to our first "Cartoonists Draw Blood" art exhibit at Takoma Park Community Center from 6:30-8PM. The exhibit will feature work from artists who have participated in our past blood drives. We'll have refreshments, fun, the opportunity to meet the artists in-person, and browse or purchase the art!

"Cartoonists Draw Blood" is a project I've organized with National Cartoonists Society since 2013. Every year we host a drive with American Red Cross where blood donors meet local cartoonists and receive a complimentary thank you drawing after donating blood. Mark your calendar – our next blood drive is Saturday, October 29, 2016 from 10AM-3:30PM at Seekers Church, across for the Takoma metro station.

The exhibit is part of the "Stylized Notions: Works by Cartoonists Draw Blood, Mike Guy, William L. Brown and Timothy Lee Giles" show hosted by City of Takoma Park, MD – Municipal Government.

Facebook RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1720147881594070

ARTISTS INCLUDE:
Art Hondros, Bill Brown, Carolyn Belefski, Eric Gordon, Jake Warrenfeltz, Jay Payne, Joe Carabeo, Joe Sutliff, Mal Jones, Matt Rawson, Steve Artley, Steve Loya, Teresa Roberts Logan

THANKS:
Bill Brown, Steve Loya, Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Takoma Park Community Center

The Making of Carolyn Belefski's White House Cartoons

A lot of people have been asking about the work I recently did for The White House, which was released this week on their social media platforms. Since I posted process and the concept sketch of the comic book cover I did for Cartoon Network's Adventure Time comic this past summer, I thought many artists and creative types would get a kick out of this project showcasing the Affordable Care Act. I enjoy seeing behind-the-scenes, but the final product is always what the public will see. Here you will get a glimpse behind the curtain.

The White House Office of Digital Strategy approached me with the concept of creating health care comics. They provided the personas (athletic, hipster, caregiver, etc.) and I developed sketches of the character designs for approval. Above you will see the first and only attempt of the character designs. Stage one complete!

At this time I also provided three layout options on how tell the story best on social media. The White House provided me with dimensions that were possible for the project. As you can see in the top right, we selected the character head in the center and the text surrounding that area so it would not get cropped on certain sites (like Twitter) in preview. 

To clarify, yes, it would get cropped, but the text would not get cut off. The image above shows how we considered how the crop would look like. This was the first one I completed, and once that was approved, I completed the other comics for each character. They provided me with a script and did allow me to contribute to the story. It was a total collaboration!

I must also correct myself, in an interview with Jen Sorensen posted earlier today, I mentioned there were no art edits, but I was mistaken because I remembered (while writing this blog) that there was one change. I originally drew the guy at the gym working out without a shirt and showing his nipples. They asked me not to show the nipples in the preview section (area viewed in social, the non black area above), but I decided to put a shirt on him instead of redrawing the whole image. I only had to erase the nipples, add sleeves, and color in the shirt in Photoshop. This change only took five minutes and was easier to do than redraw the whole panel. Work smarter, not harder! Perhaps I forgot about this change because it didn't take long to alter. I would have liked to include the nipples because it's funny and I like to call them pepperonis, but I don't know if America can take another wardrobe malfunction. But hey, the Super Bowl is this Sunday so maybe Katy Perry is planning to stun us.

Regarding color palette we agreed to have a minimal flat color look and I selected the colors. After the first one was approved, I hit the ground running with the same look and colors to make each comic connect and work together as a system.

Yesterday First Lady posted the athletic cartoon I illustrated for ‪#‎GetCovered‬ on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. Right now it has received 16,041 likes on Instagram. It feels good to have Michelle Obama and the rest of the world see my art. 

I know the health care debate is rough from all angles. Because of these illustrations, I've read people's comments calling me a sell out and telling me how to draw. I've also seen other media sites say this is The White House's attempt to make Obamacare seem cool. I take that as a compliment because my cartoons are cool! Another site called it childish. I have some news for them: Cartoons can be all-ages. Adults can enjoy them too. You can be "grown-up" and contribute to society, read comics, watch animation, or draw. I pay my mortgage, car bill, buy groceries, and commute to work every day. I can enjoy cartoons. Don't call us childish. Call us childlike. There is a difference.

Another point I want to make is that I have worked for conservative and liberal clients. You may have conservative and liberal friends. Or friends who are environmental. Or libertarian. Or friends who like pizza crust or don't (for the record, I'm not friends with those people). I am an equal opportunity artist and I work with people who want to work with me.

Part of why I took this gig on was because I was extremely pleased that The White House was interested in publishing comics and trying something different. Reaching out to new audiences who are visual learners or experimenting with Instagram is not a bad thing. I know how politics work, but please -- attacking art as a medium is an all-time low. Anyone remember prehistoric cave paintings? This is history. Art is history.

I also took on this assignment because it is important to take care of yourself and know what your options are. I like how many of the characters in this series are aiming to be the best version of themselves they can be. The images showcase healthy eating and exercising, which are important to me. Taking care of yourself and your body shows self respect and I wish more Americans and humans overall showed that initiative.

Not all the comics have been posted on their social media accounts at this time, but you can view them all by visiting WhiteHouse.gov or by looking below. The caregiver cartoon has been animated and is on The White House Instagram account.

Thank you to The White House for this opportunity and thank you to so many people online who have "liked" and commented and reposted. If you enjoyed these cartoons, please read my comic strip Curls and the other fun things I create to make others smile. I really do enjoy being Cartoonist for America.

Available for Freelance Work
If you are interested in my illustration and/or design skills, please email Carolyn Belefski at info@curls-studio.com. View my portfolio: http://www.carolynbelefski.com

Charlie Hebdo - A Call To Arms

I was having hope for 2015 to be a good year, but the first major news story of the year is terrorizing.

Yesterday was a terrible day for cartoonists, satirists, writers, and journalists around the world. The attack on Charlie Hebdo publication headquarters killed several people in France. 

After meeting several political cartoonists back in 2011, I was aware that many cartoonists are targeted everyday for their voice. I was aware that Charlie Hebdo was targeted before and, sadly, I'm not surprised this tragedy has happened. I like to live in a land of endless rainbows and bubble tea, but the world outside my protective bubble is a messed up place.

These days you never know who you will offend. My wish is that cartoons and articles open up dialogue about issues and real verbal discussion arises. Killing is not the answer. Let's solve our problems with art. You can have a gun or you can have a pencil.

Violence is weakness. Art is power. 

Trip to U.S. Library of Congress

Yesterday I was able to take a part in a small group tour of the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. We were introduced to a treasure trove of original art being preserved in the Prints and Photographs Division followed by a gathering of selected material in the Serial and Government Publications Division.

We saw some pieces from the Small Press Expo collection, including Jim Rugg and the wonderful 2012 poster illustrated by Becky Dreistadt. (Speaking of which, my SPX banner art is also in the collection). We also saw the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 comic book plus original art by Thomas Nast, Garry Trudeau, Peggy Bacon, Rose O'Neill, Eric Drooker, Charles Vess, Rube Goldberg, and more!

I learned about how the material is preserved from aging as best as possible and how the librarians reference the content. In the photo above you will see how a protective box can be destroyed by florescent light damage, keep in mind that this is an acid-free box. Digital Conversion Specials are hard to work to properly scan and photograph the material as well.

Here is the hallway of over 14,000 Herblock pieces that are achieved. They also have around 4,000 New Yorker cartoons and tons more!

Now Magic Bullet #6 (Washington, D.C.'s free comics newspaper) has been added to the collection at the U.S. Library of Congress! You can also get your hands on a physical issue at one of the locations listed here. Hurry before all 5,000 copies are gone!

A lot of people don't realize you can make reservations with the librarians to view up to 15 objects per day. Thanks to the librarians for the tour and selecting materials for viewing. It was an experience I will not forget.

More photos can be found in the Curls Studio Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151470211282381.1073741825.50763422380&type=1

Donkeys & Elephants: A Celebration of American Political Cartoons

On Saturday, January 12, 2013, I attended "Donkeys & Elephants: A Celebration of American Political Cartoons" at Studio Gallery in DC.

Here are some photos I took of the exhibit.

Here is more information on the exhibit from the press release:

In January, 2013 Studio Gallery will present a special exhibit which celebrates America’s editorial cartoonists and their work. The show focuses on donkeys and elephants, icons of partisan imagery since the 1800’s, and features more than 70 pieces. It includes some of the earliest cartoons by Thomas Nast portraying donkey and elephants, a special exhibit of some of Herb Block’s (Herblock) work, and over 50 contemporary cartoons from around the country and the world illustrating America’s political scene during 2012.  

 On Tuesday, January 22, from 6 – 8 PM, Kevin Kallaugher, editorial cartoonist for The Economist Magazine, will give a presentation titled “From Pen to Pixel: The Cartoons of Kal.”  His presentation will include a review of Kal’s cartoons on the Obama administration.  The presentation is open to the public.  

 Donkeys and Elephants is a timely and thematically colorful exhibit whose goal is to inform the public about the history of political cartoons and the important role they play in the media and in American democracy today. Editorial cartoonists have always played a critical role in America’s editorial pages. Today, in a technologic world that communicates increasingly through images, they have found a renewed importance in the online and social media sphere. 

The exhibit has been made possible with the generous support of the Herblock Foundation.   Studio Gallery will also feature a lecture by Kevin Kallagher, editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine who has been described by The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons as "one the premier caricaturists of the (twentieth) century."

WHERE: Studio Gallery, 2108 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20008

Recap: Association of American Editorial Cartoonists Convention

At the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists convention on Friday, September 14, 2012 I learned more about how cartoons are a vital part of visually swaying public opinion with politics, advertising, symbolism, and more. Well-done cartoons are a quick read, smart, and make a statement. With comics or cartoon illustration, you can do things sequentially  to tell a story that you can not do as easily in other mediums. 

Many of the presenters at #!$% CARTOONS!!, including many Pulitzer winners, are now implementing interactive actions to their cartoons, such as including web page links, or specific tweets, and even audio interviews you can click on to get more content. This showed online visual journalism and reporting at another level and perspective outside of the art. Some of the animations shown were very clever, specifically "Super Pac Mad Libs" by Mark Fiore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYlx7IcpqS4). Many of the artists used their own voices for animation dialogue and have to promote their own work on multiple social media outlets, proving once again that now more than ever it is a requirement to wear many hats in production duties.

Apple was a topic that was very prominent. With cartoonists pointing out that the corporation has most of their money in overseas funds and child labor issues. However, people overlook that because they love the Apple brand and product because of their advertising. Youth is very connected with brands now more than ever and the new iPhone 5 is the big news story that overshadows more important global issues. Many cartoonists in the room might have disagreed with Apple's business choices, but they pointed out how much they love owning an iPhone.

There is a lot of injustice going on in our world. From a discussion about the earthquake in Haiti, I learned that only 1% of all relief donations actually went to the Haitian government. The rest of the money went to corporations. Also with the political attitude in that country, I was surprised to hear that many of the people in Haiti blamed the earthquake on gay people. I don't know where you stand on that issue, but last time I checked, gay people don't cause earthquakes.

From looking at the many cartoons being presented, I couldn't help but think of the "spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down" lyrics from Mary Poppins. Since their incarnation, cartoons, specifically political ones, have humor integrated with servings of truth. A fun poke at this stupid thing or that evil thing makes it more manageable to poke fingers or even laugh at ourselves as a culture. Or speaking truth to power.

There was a battle with put "Man vs. Machine" with Steve Brodner drawing by hand and Nick Anderson drawing with Cintiq. Another batter took place between Mike Thompson and Nate Beeler when they debated animation vs. static image. A good point was made of traditional static cartoon because it can be powerful and instant.

During a break for lunch in the middle of the day, I got to test the new Cintiq 24HD touch from Wacom. It's an amazing product and I enjoyed experimenting with the different brushes and the touch screen. It was the first time I had ever used a Cintiq and would love to work more with them in the future.

Another interesting topic was "Blown Covers, New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See" with Francoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker. She showed many images of the magazine covers and discussed what it was like to work with illustrators, deadlines, and more. She said the editor is support and a cross between and air plane controller and a shrink. I enjoyed seeing the sketch process of the Obama Fist Bump issue that was so controversial along with the many other conceptual ideas that were were executed and beautiful.

More battles went on between the political right (Nate Beeler, Chip Bok, Scott Stantis) and left (Clay Bennett, Jen Sorensen, Tom Tomorrow) as they discussed the current 2012 presidential election. Many of them covered the political conventions from the convention floor or from their living room updating with sketches at a real-time speed.

I was glad to attend the event as an attendee and that my employer allowed "professional development" time for this. Maybe we'll allow for more cartoon usage, let alone illustration, to tell a story at the ad agency I work at. And I am happy to say it was the best $10 I spent all year. It was educational, fun, and at times a bit tense - but it was all worth it because cartoons make the reader feel emotions, make the world alive, and the people alert.

I was only able to attend the lectures during the day on Friday, because that following Saturday and Sunday I exhibited at Small Press Expo. Look for the SPX recap to come soon!

View more event photos on the Curls Studio Facebook page and give us a "Like" while you are there: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151149510917381.468016.50763422380&type=3

Freedom of Comics: Trip to the Newseum

Recently I went on a spontaneous trip to the Newseum in Washington, DC. Being that free tickets were available to use only for that day it was a last minute chance to use or lose. Since I had wanted to check out the new Newseum out for awhile, it was a perfect opportunity to take advantage and save on the $21.95 admission fee. I had previously been to the old location in Arlington many years ago.


This museum is highly recommend, not only because it recognizes journalism, but also because of the reminder it placed on me about the Five Freedoms of Americans (Speech, Press, Religion, Petition, Assembly). In addition I am impressed with the value the museum placed on visual art and how that relates to our society and communication.


I didn't realize cartoons and comics would get as much exposure as they did at the Newseum, which is a welcome surprise. They had a section all about comic strips called "The Funny Pages" and another focusing on the editorial cartoons of Doug Marlette. It was refreshing to see cartoons get as much respect as Pulitzer Prize winning photographs or pieces of the Berlin Wall.


Other sights that were of interest to me were Tom Russert's office, the Unabomber's cabin house, 9/11 gallery featuring the top portion of the Trade Center, some John Dillinger stuff, Daniel Pearl's personal materials, a blurb about Matt Drudge, and a small exhibit on the President's First Dogs. We had a great time and judging from spending over six hours in the museum, I'd say the value is worth the time to recognize our freedoms.

I was reminded of the great independence and privilege cartoonists have about getting their message and stories out and will soon be implementing this more with my comic strip, Curls.

Meeting International Political Cartoonists at The National Press Club

Yesterday, June 20, 2011, Curls Studio attended the event, Daring to Draw: An Evening with Political Cartoonists from Around the World at The National Press Club in Washington, DC.

The US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program is currently hosting a group of 20 political cartoonists from North Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia. During their three weeks in the America, they will meet with fellow cartoonists around the country and get a taste of American culture.


Washington, DC was their first stop and we (Carolyn Belefski, Joe Carabeo) were on hand with fellow DC creators and comics enthusiasts (Rafer Roberts, Jacob Warrenfeltz, Donna Lewis, Matt Dembicki, Mike Rhode) to greet them. Rafer brought copies of Magic Bullet to share with them.


Some of the cartoonists we chatted with came from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. They were very excited for this opportunity and very interested in cartooning and meeting us. Their work was played in rotation on a monitor and it was very powerful commentary on their side of the world and global issues in general.

Many of these cartoonists put their life in the line for freedom of speech. It humbled me to know halfway around the world there are cartoonists visually paving the road for freedom.


I have never been to a gathering of so many international cartoonists before and I'm still interested in learning more about other cultures. Maybe there is an exchange program? Or can we go on a USO tour to represent America and Curls Studio? I'd love to do on a USO tour one day.

More photos from this event can be seen on the Curls Studio Facebook Page.

Here is a link to Joe's Tumblr about this event experience: http://goastray.tumblr.com/post/6775818019/curls-studio-and-other-great-dc-cartoonist-greet