SPOTTED: Abel Dijkstra, Comic Design student, wins Small Press Award
- Design
- ArtEZ Prizewinner
During the opening of the Stripdagen Haarlem on June 1, there were not one but two first-place winners of the Small Press Award this year. One of them is Abel Dijkstra, a Comic Design student. He won the award with his work "De Grebbelinie," described by the jury as "a very personal and disorienting historical story."
The jury of the Small Press Award consisted of professionals from the comic and art world, including Wasco (winner of the Stripschapprijs 2020), Mara Joustra (Head of Animation Design, Comic Design, and Illustration Design at ArtEZ), and Leau Grégoire (winner of the Small Press Award 2023). About Abel's work, the jury said: "Dijkstra uses various techniques such as woodcut, cardboard printing, pen and ink, and color. His work invites re-reading due to the strange transitions and plot twists, making it particularly fascinating."
Two first-place winners
The other first-place winner is Fynn van der Ziel. He won the award with his work "Vis," an elongated booklet with a cardboard cover, bound with a pamphlet stitch. The story, made in clay and then risoprinted, is aesthetically very appealing and seems effortlessly created. The contrast between the different forms and techniques used by both winners makes their works captivating in their own unique ways. Therefore, the jury decided to award the first prize twice this year. The team behind the work "Dit lichaam van ons" (This body of ours) finished in third place.
About the Small Press Award
This is the third consecutive year that Stripdagen Haarlem, together with Cross Comix from Rotterdam, has presented the Small Press Award. The winner of the Small Press Award 2024 receives a check worth €1,500 and the opportunity to set up an exhibition during Cross Comix Rotterdam in 2025. Additionally, the two runners-up each receive a check worth €500. Since there are two winners this year, the jury combined the prize money for first and second place and divided it among the winners.