‘Illegal Times’, humour in troubled times
After the events of October 1st, 2017, we at l’Apòstrof wanted to denounce the violation of civil and political rights here at home—especially the attacks on freedom of expression. We decided to use our pens as weapons, and to create a free, single-edition, humour-based newspaper. We called it the Illegal Times, and distributed over 10,000 copies.
The Illegal Times was published both digitally and on paper. It included cartoons by over twenty satirical illustrators from around the world, many of whom regularly contribute to internationally prestigious newspapers. It also included written reflections by over a dozen humourists and social and cultural activists.
This project was promoted by l’Apòstrof with collaboration from cartoonist Jaume Capdevila (Kap). Over a dozen organizations from the cooperative sector also provided resources.
One of the goals of the Illegal Times was to explain the repression in Catalonia to the world at large, something the press often doesn’t explain in sufficient detail. Collaborating illustrators from newspapers around the world also helped by distributing the paper in their respective newsrooms.
In addition to collaborations from famous cartoonists from around the world and people from civil society, this project was the result of contributions (both in hours of work and in funds) from Grup ECOS, Col·lectiu Ronda, the Roca i Galès foundation, the Arç cooperative, Jamgo, Olistis, Bruna, Andreu Comas, Núria Vila and Bel Zaballa.