Ben Jennings, cartoonist, illustrator and alumnus of the Illustration BA Honours course, has won the Political Cartoonist of the Year award for 2022, presented by Ellwood Atfield. This is the second time the artist has received the award, after his previous win in 2021.
Ellwood Atfield is a specialist communications and advocacy headhunter organisation based in the UK. Their annual Political and Pocket Cartoons and Cartoonists Awards are supported by the Political Cartoon Gallery and the Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation. The awards aim to highlight the role of political cartoonists in maintaining freedom of speech and a free press in the UK and around the world.
Jennings has produced work for a variety of clients worldwide, including The Guardian, NHS, Penguin Books, and Amnesty International. His art focuses on serious subject matters, using bold imagery, social comment, and metaphor, coupled with a more light-hearted, satirical approach and a sense of humour.
He also received the Political Cartoon of the Year award from the Political Cartoon Society in 2011 while studying at Westminster, and later in 2017. He has contributed to exhibitions in London, Oxford, Paris, Hanover and Berlin, including having his artwork displayed at London’s Cartoon Museum, and published in various books.
Talking about Jennings’s success, Westminster’s Alumni Team stated: “We are so pleased that Ben continues to be recognised for his talent, art and the important messages conveyed through his cartoons. We have had the pleasure of sharing his accomplishments with our alumni community throughout his career, including an article in Network magazine 2017. We look forward to seeing what he does next.”
Learn more about Art, Design and Visual Culture courses at the University of Westminster.
