Advisory Board

MU’TAZ SAWWAF

Mu’taz Sawaf is an AUB trustee since 2014. He graduated from AUB ‘74 with a degree in Architectural Engineering, and successfully achieved an extensive network of both private and public projects in the Middle East, and the Gulf. He is a comics connoisseur and an accomplished illustrator as well as an avid collector of comics. Sawwaf established the company “Tosh Fesh” with the aim of encouraging young Arab artists by publishing their works and gaining exposure in the Arab world.

LINA GHAIBEH

Director of the Mu’taz and Rada Sawwaf Arabic Comics initiative at AUB, coordinator of the graphic design program and associate professor at the department of Architecture & Design at AUB. She is a practicing animation and comics artist and her work has been screened and exhibited at several international film festivals and comics Salons. Her research area focuses on Comics in the Arab world as part of contemporary Arab Culture.

HABIB HADDAD

Renowned and widely published Lebanese cartoonist and illustrator.He participated in several diverse exhibitions, both national and international, and has published two collections of his own cartoon work. For the past 3 decades, Haddad has been drawing caricatures and cartoons as the editorial cartoonist for the Lebanese newspaper Al-Hayat in Paris.

GEORGE KHOURY (JAD)

Renowned Lebanese comics artist and critic. He has published several comic albums as well as comics series in daily newspapers since the 1980s, which have received several awards, and authored several articles and essays on the history of comics in the Arab world. He has been head of the Animation Department at Future Television since its launch in 1993, and teaches at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

JIHAD EL KHAZEN

Prominent writer and journalist and the founding Editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. He is now a columnist and editor emeritus for the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat where he writes a biweekly column called Ayoon wa Azan. Mr. El Khazen works and lives in London.

EMAD HAJJAJ

Jordanian cartoonist well known as Abu Mahjoob ,He is one of the most famous cartoonists in the Arab world and has extensive experience in many Arabic and international newspapers and websites. He has published many books , most notably his cartoon collection book Al-Mahjoob in two parts. Emad received many awards and is considered also as one of the pioneering digital painters in the Arabic region. He has produced animated films and many satirical content prepared for social networking platforms. He heads the Society of Cartoonists in Jordan and is a member of several cartoon societies.

DANA KAHIL TROMETER

Lebanese – French filmmaker based in the UK and co-partner at Burst. Agency. She started her film career as a film editor in 1996 and moved to producing and directing in 2007. She has worked across all genres (features, documentaries, advertising, corporate) and for some of the biggest names and brands in the business (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, PBS). Dana is Mahmoud Kahil’s daughter and is passionate in keeping her father’s legacy alive. She has been documenting her search for Kahil’s artwork since 2003. She goes by three words only: “everything is possible”.