The story between Pierre Kroll and the University of Liège has been unfolding for thirty years. With “Kroll at the University,” ULiège celebrates three decades of drawings, offbeat perspectives, and a free-spirited tone in the pages of Le Quinzième Jour, the university magazine to which the cartoonist has remained loyal since its very first issue.
Initiated by Rector Anne-Sophie Nyssen, the exhibition brings together a selection of sketches drawn from thirty years of archives. Published in response to current events, these drawings now form a vibrant and offbeat record of the University.
Kroll’s drawings, on the other hand, reveal something different—perhaps something more “grounded.” Each drawing captures a truth of the moment that words sometimes struggle to convey as quickly*.
A leading cartoonist in the Belgian press, Pierre Kroll studied at the University of Liège, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science after attending La Cambre School of Architecture. Very early on, his cartoons found their way into French-language newsrooms and established a lasting presence in the media landscape.
At the University of Liège, too, his style quickly took hold. Beginning in 1986, Pierre Kroll published in Le P’tit Lu, the predecessor of Le Quinzième Jour, a magazine he would continue to contribute to over the years. Issue after issue, he infused it with the irreverent perspective that became his trademark. A freedom of expression to which he remains deeply committed:
The newspaper—and its editors—have always given me free rein [...] That kind of freedom is rare. And it’s essential. Without it, a cartoon becomes mere illustration. With it, it can become something more biting, more incisive*.
This long-standing collaboration had already been recognized by the University in 2013, when Pierre Kroll was awarded the title of docteur honoris causa for his commitment to freedom of expression.
The “Kroll at the Univ’” exhibition can first be viewed in the lobby of the main building on Place du 20-Août, before moving to the Grand Amphitheaters on the Sart Tilman campus starting September 15.
*An interview with Pierre Kroll and Rector Anne-Sophie Nyssen can be found in the special issue of Le Quinzième Jour dedicated to the exhibition.
Exhibition at the Central Building, Place du 20-Août
Exhibition AT THE LARGE AMPHITHEATERS OF THE SART TILMAN
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