17 Facts About Zapiro

Zapiro is the nephew of British magician David Berglas and cousin to Marvin Berglas, director of Marvin's Magic.

Zapiro studied architecture at the University of Cape Town but found it unsatisfying and moved to the art campus, Michaelis.

Zapiro was an important participant in South Africa's End Conscription Campaign, designing its logo.

The name Zapiro was derived from the nickname of a fellow pupil at Rondebosch Boys' High School, Martin Szapiro, whose friends called him Zap.

The first Zapiro character was a character named Preppy, whose main characteristic was his fringe, and who commented on issues that went on around school.

Zapiro had started out as the editorial cartoonist for South newspaper in 1987, and after his stint in New York, he was the editorial cartoonist for the Sowetan from 1994 to 2005.

Zapiro's cartoons appeared in the Cape Argus from 1996 to 1997.

In 2010, Zapiro's cartoons were featured in South African journalist Alexander Parker's book, 50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa, about people who had contributed most to the ruination of the country's government, culture, politics and daily life.

Since 2017, Zapiro has been the editorial cartoonist for the publication, Daily Maverick.

Zapiro's caricatures appear in the form of puppets on the satirical television and web show ZANEWS, a Spitting Image type of programme he helped launch in 2009 alongside producer Thierry Cassuto.

Zapiro has held solo cartoon exhibitions in New York, London and Frankfurt and many in South Africa, and has exhibited in numerous group shows locally and internationally.

Zapiro's exhibition "Jiving with Madiba" was held at the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town from 14 July to 27 November 2011.

Zapiro has been an invited participant in cartoon events in Cameroon, Botswana, Australia, France, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy.

Zapiro was awarded the Freedom to Publish Prize by the International Publishers Association in 2012.

Zapiro was ranked by Jeune Afrique magazine as one of the 50 most influential personalities on the African continent.

In 2008, Zapiro met with further animosity, this time from the South African ruling party, the African National Congress over a cartoon that appeared in the Sunday Times on 7 September 2008.

On 21 May 2010 the Mail and Guardian published a strip from Zapiro depicting Muhammed, as part of Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.