speakers inc

Zapiro

  • Cape Town, WC
  • Fee Range: On Request

Tagline: Political Cartoonist

Gallery

Categories

Political

20 Speakers

Videos

Zapiro was born in Cape Town in the 1950’s, Johnathan Shapiro couldn’t quite make up his mind as to what he wanted to do – career wise. He would never have imagined a career in cartooning. A political satirist from whom no politician is safe – not even the President, Zapiro has had no shortage […]

Zapiro was born in Cape Town in the 1950’s, Johnathan Shapiro couldn’t quite make up his mind as to what he wanted to do – career wise. He would never have imagined a career in cartooning.

A political satirist from whom no politician is safe – not even the President, Zapiro has had no shortage of conflict in his career. 

As a teenager, Jonathan Shapiro, as he was known, was conscripted into the South African Defence Force. Whilst in the army, he refused to bear arms and in 1983, he became active in the newly formed United Democratic Front.

His arrest under the Illegal Gatherings Act caused some consternation in the SADF. Frequently monitored by military intelligence, whilst also participating in the End Conscription Campaign, he designed its logo.

His work as a cartoonist began in earnest with a wide range of political and progressive organisations. When the newspaper South started in 1987, Zapiro – Political Satirist, Keynote Speaker became its editorial cartoonist.

He was detained by security police in 1988, shortly before leaving on a Fulbright Scholarship to study media arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York. This turned out to be an eye opening experience where he studied under comics’ masters, Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman.

Zapiro returned to South Africa in 1991 and with Story Circle, he produced educational comics including ‘Roxy’ (AIDS education), ‘Tomorrow People’ (democracy education) and ‘A Trolley Full of Rights’ (a child abuse prevention comic, later used by UNICEF elsewhere in Africa.)

He has been the editorial cartoonist for the Mail & Guardian since 1994, the Sunday Times since 1998 and The Times since May 2009. Before that, Zapiro-Political Satirist Keynote Speaker was previously a cartoonist for the Sowetan (1994 – 2005), the Cape Argus (1996-1997), Cape Times, The Star, The Mercury, Pretoria News (2005-2008).

Zapiro | Political Cartoonist Commentator

In addition, Zapiro has held solo cartoon exhibitions in New York, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Dhaka, Sweden and many in South Africa.

Also, he has exhibited his work in numerous group shows, both locally and internationally.

He attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (2003 – 2006) as one of a group of invited cartoonists.

He has been an invited participant and speaker in cartoon events in Cameroon, Botswana, Namibia, Australia, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Taiwan and the USA.

Locally, he has been a presenter as well as run workshops for a wide variety of organisations and educational institutions.

He has published eighteen cartoon collections:

  • The Madiba Years (1996)
  • The Hole Truth (1997)
  • End Of Part One (1998)
  • Call Mr Delivery (1999)
  • The Devil Made Me Do It! (2000)
  • The ANC Went in 4X4 (2001)
  • Bushwhacked (2002)
  • Dr Do-Little and the African Potato (2003)
  • Long Walk to Free Time (2004)
  • Is There a Spin Doctor In the House? (2005)
  • Da Zuma code (2006)
  • Take Two Veg and Call Me In the Morning (2007)
  • Pirates of Polokwane (2008)
  • Don’t Mess With the President’s Head (2009)
  • Do You Know Who I Am?! (2010)
  • The Last Sushi (2011)
  • But Will It Stand Up in Court (2012)
  • My Big Fat Gupta Wedding (2013)
  • Also published large-format hardcover:
  • The Mandela Files (2008)
  • Also published a sports cartoon collection:
  • VuvuzelaNation (2013)
  • Also published a 20-year special cartoon collection:
  • Democrazy (2014)

Contact us at Speakers Inc and subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Author Books

Send an enquiry to Zapiro

Client Reviews

Similar to Zapiro

  • 134 Views

Stephen Grootes is an Award-winning journalist and political commentator, is the host of the Afternoon Drive show and former host of the Midday Report. Stephen Grootes is also a regular contributor to Daily Maverick, is very active on Twitter and has published a book, S.A. Politics Unspun which offers a roadmap to guide the reader through […]

  • Johannesburg
  • 107 Views
  • 5 (1)

Justice Malala is an award-winning journalist, political commentator and current affairs speaker, television host and newspaper columnist. He writes regular weekly columns for The Times newspaper, the Financial Mail magazine, a monthly column for DESTINY MAN magazine and regular columns for the Guardian newspaper in London. He is the resident political analyst for e.tv and […]

  • New York, USA
  • 23 Views

Ambassador Tony Leon is an author, speaker and consultant, and careers in both front line South African politics and international diplomacy.

  • Cape Town, WC
  • 221 Views

Ziyanda Ngcobo is a seasoned senior politics reporter at Newzroom Afrika, where her insightful coverage and incisive commentary on political affairs have solidified her reputation as a respected broadcaster and moderator. With a career deeply rooted in journalism, Ziyanda’s journey began at VOW FM (Voice of Wits), marking the inception of what would evolve into […]

  • Johannesburg
  • 71 Views

From her roots as the White House Director of Events to her globe-trotting career as an emcee and keynote, Laura Schwartz brings her exuberant spirit and professional-speaking expertise to live events in person and virtual around the world. Laura keeps an audience engaged while achieving your event’s objectives. She taps into her experience to forge […]

  • Chicago, USA
  • 51 Views

Prof Richard Calland teaches constitutional and human rights law, and some administrative law. He specializes in the law and practice of the right to access to information and whistleblowing protection; in administrative justice; in public ethics; and in constitutional design – largely derived from his work as programme manager of the Political Information & Monitoring […]

  • Cape Town, WC
  • 75 Views

Herman Mashaba grew up in a small village on the outskirts of Pretoria during the dark days of apartheid South Africa. Mashaba embraced independence early in life, having lost his father at the age of two. When his studies were interrupted by state security forces during the struggle against apartheid, Mashaba decided to pursue a […]

  • Johannesburg
  • 87 Views
Tim Cohen
  • Promoted

Before joining Daily Maverick as Business Editor, Tim Cohen was the editor of Business Day. He began his journalism career on Dome newspaper, the official student newspaper of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, whose production schedule was largely dependent on the availability of beer. He graduated to the last outpost, The Natal Witness, which was fuelled […]

  • East London
Disclaimer:
The profiles and images embedded on these pages are from various conference speakers and talent.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Speakers Inc.

Fee ranges where listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only.

All talent fees exclude VAT, travel and accommodation where required.

We are actively working to have our profiles current with Keynote Speech titles, and Summaries.

Some Speakers do not have a set title or summary for their topic lists. Instead they customize for each. Other speakers only do moderated conversations.

If you do not see content here, please contact us.

We also have ample information off line that we can share as some do not want to have visible profiles and as such these are hidden pages. Or in the event we do not have the information, we can contact the speaker to provide and share.

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2024. Created by Speakers Inc