The cartoonist Miguel Gallardo, Animac 2022 Trajectory Award

In recognition of his artistic work, Animac, the International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia organized by the Lleida City Council , awards the Trajectòria 2022 Prize to the illustrator Miguel Gallardo (Lleida, 1955), for his brilliant and fruitful career as an illustrator, narrator of graphic stories and for his genius in express themselves through their characters.

“Gallardo is a key artist in our country and his images, in the form of posters, books, comics and even animations, are part of our culture and transcend our borders. Gallardo has spent almost 50 years in the profession during which he has given life and color to characters and environments of all kinds, proving that he is an extraordinary cartoonist, a master of color and that his imagination is prodigious. On the other hand, we consider him a friend of the Show, generous and committed to his artistic environment. Apart from his professional merits, we are very excited to be able to pay tribute to one of the most outstanding artists in Lleida, whose work is now in the collection of the Jaume Morera Museum of Art in the city “, he explains. Carolina López , director of Animac.

Miguel Gallardo thanked the award with these words: “Thank you for this honor, I feel privileged to be able to do what I love most, privileged that Animac awards me the 2022 Trajectory Award and that this is in Lleida, for me it has an added value and is very emotional ”.

Since its inception in the 1970s, Gallardo has explored the world of comics and advertising, where he discovered his love of animation and explored drawing as a powerful communication tool. He is a regular illustrator for La Vanguardia and El País, and we can also see his cartoons in the Herald Tribune, The New York Times and The New Yorker.

In addition to being one of the key creators of the Spanish underground comic, with his famous character “Makoki” at the helm, Gallardo is also the author of the graphic novel “María y yo” (2007), which narrates the adventures and travels with her daughter María, who suffers from autism spectrum disorder, and who has been taken to the cinema in a documentary directed by Félix Fernández de Castro, who mixes the real image with the animations of Gallardo himself.

Committed to spreading autism, Gallardo is also the author of the animated short film “El viaje de María” (2010), a short excursion into the inner world of a teenager with autism, a journey full of color, love, creativity and originality, she has also given talks and workshops around the world based on her communication experiences with her daughter.

In collaboration with the Museu d’Art Jaume Morera , during Animac an exhibition is planned in the foyer of the Teatre de la Llotja in Lleida with a selection of original drawings by Miguel Gallardo , which are part of the Museum’s collections thanks to a donation from the author.

Animac 2022 “Forces of Imagination”, in person in Lleida from March 3rd to 6th and online from March 4th to 13th

The 26th edition of Animac, organized by Lleida City Council in person from 3 to 6 March and online from 4 to 13 March, will focus on the power of the imagination (“Forces of Imagination”) and will feature the best of animation cinema, with monographic and retrospective film sessions that explore the subject of imagination and its expressive power, as well as a careful selection of newly created short and feature films from around the world, lectures and masterclasses for animation lovers.