Expo: Small Press Award 2026

Sabien Clement (illustrator, visual artist, 1978) draws with a precise line what often goes unnoticed: a hesitant hand, a stumble in fragments, a body waiting. Her work often begins with life drawing but grows into something deeper — images where observation and her inner world merge. Using fine pen, graphite or collage, on paper or canvas, she searches for a visual language in which fragility simultaneously embodies strength and comfort.Her graphic novel-in-progress explores themes of aging, living on the margins of society, and the vital need to truly see one another — slowly, attentively, and with fragile courage — in a world fixated on speed and success.

Romy van Kaam is currently studying at St. Joost in Breda, where she is taking the Illustrated & Animated Storytelling program. Her work is cheerful and colorful, often featuring fantasy creatures or animals. In her work, she frequently uses layering to create a 3D effect. She regularly makes collages with her characters. She loves working with various materials, including felt, paper, watercolor, and pencils. She prefers working traditional, but occasionally creates digital work as well.

Wouter Gresnigt of Werkplaats W has been active in Small Press for more than 20 years. For Gresnigt, it is the ideal breeding ground for experimenting with different kinds of visual expression. This year, that resulted in winning third prize at the Small Press Award. Wouter transformed Paul van Ostaijen’s well-known sound poem *Boem Paukeslag* into a magnificent Small Press zine. In 2022, Gresnigt also won third prize at the Small Press Award with the two Small Press zines: ‘#1 Daniil Kharms’ and ‘#2 Daniil Kharms’. These formed the basis for the book ‘Daniil Charms, 18 verhalen’, which was published in the summer of 2025. In addition to Small Press, you may also encounter the work of Werkplaats W in newspapers, magazines, on shop windows, and on chalkboards. He has also illustrated and designed several children’s books.

Nika Klee is a multidisciplinary storyteller who often works in collaboration with people and places to create stories. She’s fascinated by the ways stories can be told in the medium of sequential storytelling. She’s inspired by creators like Aimée de Jongh and Craig Thompson, and combines the intimacy and authenticity that characterizes their voices with an unconventional approach that challenges the boundaries of traditional comics; such as the use of printmaking techniques.

She’s currently studying Comic Design at Artez Zwolle, and is one fifth of the zine-making collective “The Indigo Animal”

Una Jongenelis (b. 1997, Amsterdam) is a visual artist and filmmaker whose multidisciplinary practice spans film, painting, drawing, books, and music. Her debut animated film, Thunderhead, marks a significant step in her career, weaving together her background in psychology with her distinctive artistic vision.

With her project “Una’s Book Project Vol 4:Curious Dot” she won the Small Press Award 2026.

Sara Mertens is an illustrator and graphic novelist based in Antwerp. With a clear line, she builds a world between dream and reality. In her work she often focuses on interpersonal relationships, and daily life is a constant inspiration. She has worked for various clients, such as Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, deBuren, Stripgids and Stad Antwerpen. She is part of TUIG collective, a group of illustrators organizing all sorts of fun stuff. She’s currently working on a graphic novel about friendship.

Cil De Vylder (she/her, 1999) lives in Antwerp. She is an illustrator, visual artist, and writer. In 2022, she graduated from Luca School of Arts in Brussels, where she studied Graphic storytelling. She enjoys heading out with a camera and a notebook. Photos of her friends and details from nature often serve as a starting point for her work. She likes to create a soft, colorful, poetic world that you, as a viewer or reader, can step into. She gives monthly zine workshops at the Antwerp Youth Library.

Cato Douwes Dekker (Amsterdam, 2006) creates comics, zines, illustrations and other visual art. She is currently studying illustration at the HKU.

In 2024, she published *Girl Giant* – a compilation comic book full of autobiographical stories, activism, feminism, humour and absurdism. And now, in 2026, *Girl Giant 2* has also been published as a zine. Cato explores the oddities of human behaviour and the ‘normal’ moments of everyday life. In her stories, even the simplest, most mundane things can turn into a gruesome horror tale. 

She draws a great deal of inspiration from the work of comic artists such as Robert Crumb and Julie Doucet, and, like them, prefers to draw traditionally with pen and ink.

Girl Giant 2 received an honourable mention at the 2026 Small Press Awards ceremony. She was one of four creators who collaborated on Una Jongerius’s winning project, “Una’s Book Project Vol 4: Curious Dot”. 

Inèz Veldman draws inspiration from a fascination with a sense of control – or, conversely, the lack thereof. Moments when control slips from our grasp, or when direction and meaning shift. From this tension arise themes such as life and death, memory and loss, shame and alienation, or longing and resignation.