Released 27.03.26

The Conversation

George Butler, a British artist specialising in reportage, travel and current affairs illustration, takes us on a moving journey with his work in conflict zones.

Widely published all over the world, George’s work is now available in two books ‘Drawn across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration’, and ‘Ukraine: Remember Also Me’. His drawings have been published by the New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, CNN,  NPR. He  has also exhibited widely, with work held in London's Victoria & Albert Museum.

He picks apart how the act of drawing in the field allows him to connect with his subjects, and how the slowness affects him — a human connection that will never be matched by generative AI. “I think if you want feelings of the heart, then you have to use your hands and your mouth and your eyes to see that,” he says; “In a way, drawing has taught me that.”

He recalls one of his first attempts at reportage illustration, in 2007, in Afghanistan, and how the bigger questions have consumed him from the beginning of his career: “What were the costs of sending young men and women to that part of the world and to what end?”

He shares stories from Syria and Ukraine, including an encounter in a hospital where the father of a critically wounded child tells him “art can make no difference.” Listening to George wrestle with these issues is what makes this episode one of the most emotionally arresting in the series thus far.

The episode ends with a conversation about the charity he helped establish, Action Syria, which has raised nearly £10 million over a decade to support education and healthcare. You can make your donations here:

Image: Jessé Manuel [Angola, 2023]

Books discussed:

George Butler
— Drawn across Borders: True Stories of Human Migration
— Ukraine: Remember Also Me

John Berger
— Portraits: John Berger on Artists