#JeSuisArtShow

"I was a cartoonist in exile in Paris from 1996 to 2006, and the first year I got there, I was a contributor for Charlie Hebdo," the globally inspired cartoonist and activist says.

His political cartoons had gotten him in hot water in his native Cameroon, and so Nyaphaga forged a new life after asylum was granted.

Still with a knot on his throat, he recalls the legacy of editor Stéphane Charbonnier and his slain staff. "I knew them all. It was like an earthquake in my life," Nyaphaga says.

"I was devastated," he continues. "Because, you know, cartoonists are people who have very, very good hearts. They want to change the world, and they only use paper and ink to do that."

Channeling his grief and hope for political change, the now Santa Fe-based artist unveils Je Suis Artoonist, 45 pieces strong, this Friday at the CCA.

"The public opinion doesn't take cartoonists seriously," he says of the medium. "You can fill an entire speech with just one image. It's the first thing people see in newspapers—your work."

Surpassing "the joker" role and facing threats head-on, he says, is what has translated the artform into a "very important critical work."

He finalizes, "In the democracy process, cartoons are really the medium that is critical. It can change civilization."

Je Suis Artoonist
5-7 pm Friday, Feb. 27
CCA Cinematheque Lobby
1050 Old Pecos Trail,
982-1338

Santa Fe Reporter