Polish artist Monika Wyłoga has won first prize at the 28th Open International Satirical Cartoon Competition in Zielona Góra, Poland. Igor Varchenko of Cyprus received second prize.

The 2026 edition was held under the theme “DRON” (Drone). The jury reviewed 770 works by 319 artists from 49 countries before selecting the two main prize winners.

Wyłoga received the first prize of 5,000 PLN, while Varchenko received 4,000 PLN for second place.

The 2026 jury

The jury was chaired by Dr. Paweł Płoski, director of the Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature in Warsaw. The other members were Paulina Maciejewska, organizer of Satyrykon and president of the Satyrykon Foundation, and Zbigniew Piszczako of the Association of Polish Cartoonists (SPAK).

“DRON”

The organizers chose “DRON” as the theme of the 2026 competition, referring both to the use of drones in contemporary armed conflicts and to their growing civilian role in areas including science, agriculture, rescue services, industry and recreation.

The competition announcement also noted that “dron” was named Poland’s Word of the Year 2025 in a poll organized by the Institute of Polish Language at the University of Warsaw.

The competition is organized by the Cyprian Norwid Regional and Municipal Public Library in Zielona Góra, the Friends of the Norwid Library Association and the WINNICA Society of Friends of Zielona Góra.

It is held under the artistic patronage of the Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature and the Association of Polish Cartoonists.