Joe Magee / Stroud Film Festival / Stroud Film festival 2026

Joe has been commissioned by Stroud Film Festival to provide the key artwork illustration for this year’s event, taking place February–March 2026. The theme of this year’s programme is ‘protest’.

Joe utilized the iconic raised fist – a long-standing image of mixed meaning. The origin of the raised fist as either a symbol or gesture associated with protest seems to have been by the 1910s when it began to be used for trade unionism, anarchism, and the labor movement. A 1912 Budapest poster depicts the raised fist representing the collective power of workers. The use of the fist as a salute by antifascists is first evidenced in 1924.

Joe’s illustration has been used on posters, beer cans, the festival’s website and printed programme.