TEHRAN -- The Aylan International Cartoon and Illustration Exhibition opened at Iran’s House of Cartoon in Tehran on Sunday evening in order to draw international attention to children as the main victims of the war in Syria.

The idea for organizing the exhibition arose following the release of a picture of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi’s body in the surf off a popular Turkish holiday resort in September.

Aylan was drowned with his toddler brother and mother and several other migrants as they tried to reach Greece.

The exhibition displays 372 works by 202 artists from 40 countries, the House of Cartoon announced in a press release.

Most of works are from Iran, Turkey, Syria and Brazil.

The organizer also honored artists in the cartoon and illustration categories.

In cartoon section, ALireza Zaheri from Iran won the first prize while the second prize went to Jitet Koestana from Indonesia.

The third prize was presented to Brazilian artist Dereck Bruno Lopes Teixeira.

The first prize in the illustration category went to Italian artist Marco D’Agostino and the second prize was won by Cuban illustrator Aristides Esteban Hernandez Guerrero.

Shahram Shirzadi from Iran received the third prize.

Twenty artists also received honorable mentions at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.

Among them are Saman Torabi, Mahnaz Yazdani, Mahmud Azadnia and Mehdi Azizi from Iran; Moises Macedo Coutinho from Brazil; Mauricio Parra Herran from Colombia; Marcin Bondarovic from Poland; and Erdogan Karayel, Eray Ozbek and Hicabi Demirci from Turkey.

Photo: This work by Italian artist Marco D’Agostino won the first prize in the illustration category at the Aylan International Cartoon and Illustration Exhibition in Tehran.

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