Erich-Sokol-Prize

Erich-Sokol-Preis

© Ludwig Schedl

With the SOKOL Prize, the Karikaturmuseum Krems, the State of Lower Austria, and Annemarie Sokol, widow and executor of Erich Sokol’s estate, honor outstanding artistic achievement in digital caricature, critical drawing, and satire.

The international award reflects the exceptional achievements of artist Erich Sokol and highlight his strongly media-integrated and modern working methods.

About the Erich-Sokol-Prize
© Kunstmeile Krems

The award promotes the active use of digital, forward-looking media. In addition to traditional techniques such as pencil, ink or acrylic, caricatures and cartoons are increasingly drawn using computers, colored digitally and published digitally.

An international jury of experts selects national and international winners in four categories with award funds totaling over € 30,000: the SOKOL Recognition Prize for Special Achievements or Lifetime Achievement (€ 11,000), the SOKOL Main Prize for Digital Caricature (€ 11,000), the SOKOL Advancement Prize (€ 4,000), two AIR – ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Niederösterreich fellowships (€ 2,600 each).

Conferred every five years, the next SOKOL award ceremony will be held in 2028.

SOKOL award winners 2023

Gerald Scarfe was awarded the SOKOL Lifetime Achievement Award (€ 11,000). The British cartoonist is known as the illustrator for Pink Floyd's project "The Wall" and his character design for Disney's "Hercules". The SOKOL main prize for digital caricature (€ 11,000) went to Florian Satzinger from Graz. The internationally renowned character designer has already worked for Disney and Warner Bros. He is currently developing a completely new "Donald Duck" comic album with Disney author Denis-Pierre Filippi. Liz Montague was honored with the SOKOL advancement award (€ 4,000). The US-American is one of the first people of color whose work was published in the New Yorker. Montague is also the creator of the well-known cartoon series "Liz at Large".

The AIR - ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Lower Austria scholarships (€ 2,600 each) went to the Moroccan illustrator Ghita Ait Bensalah and the Ukrainian artist duo EtchingRoom1 consisting of Anna Khodkova and Kristina Yarosh.

  • © Gerald Scarfe
  • © Toons
  • © Liz Montague
  • © Ghita Ait Bensalah
  • © EtchingRoom1