Work
Work that gives important ideas a public life.
A selection of publishing, international exhibitions, and editorial illustration. Each project combines a clear subject, a global audience, and a visual approach built to start conversation.
Case study · Publishing platform · 2009 — present
Toons Mag
The brief. Create an independent publishing platform for cartoonists addressing political, social, and cultural issues — particularly when conventional outlets are unavailable or unsafe.
The response. ARiF founded Toons Mag as a multilingual magazine and global platform, editing work from artists around the world and developing an International Cartoon Contest and Exhibition programme.
The impact. Toons Mag has published artists from more than 80 countries, presented exhibitions at 40+ venues across Europe and Asia, and received Deutsche Welle’s The BOBs award for Best of Online Activism in 2015.
MAGGlobal cartoons · local courage
Selected exhibitions
International Cartoon Contest & Exhibition
International projects organised through Toons Mag, bringing artists and audiences together around urgent global themes.
Children in War
Focus. The impact of armed conflict on children in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond.
Exhibition. Opened by Bishop Atle Sommerfeldt at the Norwegian Cartoonist Gallery in Drøbak, then toured Oslo, Nesodden, Bergen, Stavanger, Haugesund, Kristiansand, and Norrköping in Sweden.
Project overview Exhibition announcement Explore the archive Exhibition feature Participants list
Women's Rights 2016
Focus. Gender equality, including education access, forced marriage, discrimination, and unequal workloads.
Exhibition. Opened on International Women’s Day in Drøbak, Bangalore, and Uttar Pradesh, with a later presentation in Prešov, Slovakia.
Project overview Drøbak exhibition Bangalore exhibition Award-winning cartoons Results & archive
Freedom of Expression 2017
Focus. The value that underpins ARiF’s own practice: freedom of expression.
Exhibition. Inaugurated in Drøbak by writer and former newspaper editor Per Edgar Kokkvold; later presented in Lillehammer, Prešov, Košice, Bangalore, and at the Slovak Embassy in Oslo.
Project overview Results & archive Lillehammer exhibition Drøbak exhibition Bangalore exhibition International exhibition
Gender Equality & Equal Rights
Focus. Gender equality and the equal rights of every person, regardless of gender, identity, race, or background.
Exhibition. A global contest and travelling exhibition developed with Avistegnernes Hus (The Norwegian Cartoonist Gallery) in Drøbak and supported by the Fritt Ord Foundation.
Editorial illustration
Cartoons published in Norwegian press and public policy documents.
How the work takes shape
From a clear brief to work people remember.
Whether the outcome is one illustration or an international exhibition, the work is built around an audience, a point of view, and a useful result.
WITH WEIGHT
Start with the question
Clarify what needs to be said, who needs to see it, and what the work should make possible.
IDEA
Develop the visual language
Sketch, refine, and build a visual approach that carries the idea with clarity and character.
LAND
Deliver for the real world
Receive polished files, agreed formats, and clearly defined usage for publication, campaigns, or exhibition.