Harriet Cuddeford
Creative Director, Syco Entertainment
Staging history: Harriet Cuddeford staged Bad Bunny’s 2026 Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, crafting an homage to Latino culture and utilizing the whole field as her stage, taking viewers on a tour of iconic Puerto Rican scenes.
Tour de force: Scripting appearances from Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga was no sweat for Cuddeford. She worked her way up from creative assistant to global creative director at Syco Entertainment, helping to shape the visual identities of America’s Got Talent and The X Factor UK, as well live events such as the MTV Video Music Awards.
Joe Sacco
Cartoonist, Journalist, Author
New genre: Long before graphic journalism had a name, Sacco was reporting from conflict zones with a sketchbook, blending comics and frontline reporting into something entirely new. Sacco’s unique style of storytelling allows for multiple perspectives and conflicting viewpoints, giving voice to those whose accounts may otherwise be left untold.
A long tragedy: The Maltese-American graphic novelist is best known for his landmark 1993 book, Palestine, which won an American Book Award. He’s revisited the once again war-torn territory in his work since, most recently with a 2024 series in The Comics Journal that became The War on Gaza compendium.
