Bologna, Italy, March 8, 2023.- The young Italian illustrator Andrea Antinori (Italy, 1992) is the winner of the thirteenth edition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair-SM Foundation International Illustration Award.
The ruling was announced at a ceremony held at the Caffè degli Illustratori of the Bologna International Children's and Youth Book Fair, chaired by Elena Pasoli, director of the Bologna Children's and Youth Fair, and José Manuel Cidad, president from SM.
The jury, made up of Nina Wehrle, a Swiss illustrator, Mónica Bergna, editor and owner of Editorial Alboroto (Mexico) and Lara Peces, design manager of SM Spain, has unanimously decided to award said prize to Antinori because through his contained palette of Simplified shapes, colors and lines create a vibrant graphic expression that reminds us of city lights. "Her illustrations of her draw us in and make it easy for us to relate to strong, humorous characters."
The jury has also highlighted that "its staging is not accidental, each element has a well-defined weight of its own with a clear intention. In each of its pieces, the communicative intention for all audiences prevails."
The prize, endowed with 15,000 euros, also entails the creation of a children's illustrated album that will be published by SM and presented at the Bologna 2024 Children's and Youth Book Fair.
Andrea Antinori, winner in 2023
He was born in Recanati (Italy) in 1992, and trained at the ISIA in Urbino and the Escola Massana in Barcelona. Since 2013 he has worked as an illustrator for various publishers. His publications as an author include Un libro sulle balene (2016), whose illustrations were exhibited at the MAMbo in Bologna on the occasion of the book fair. In 2017 he won the Andersen Prize, together with Vincent Cuvellier, in the category "best book for 6/9 years" with La zuppa dell'Orco, from the publishing house Biancoenero Edizioni. His book La grande battaglia was chosen as "Best International Illustrated Book" at the 2019 Shanghai Book Fair. He has worked with the Parisian gallery Les Artychauts and for the English magazine Create.
https://andreantinori.com
Presentation of the album Volver a mirar of the 2022 winner
During the Bologna International Book Fair, the book by the winner of the XII Bologna Fair-Foundation SM International Illustration Award, Volver a mirar by the Mexican Andrés López, was also presented.
A story about the importance of staying curious about what surrounds us. Many years ago, there was a man with an immense curiosity about the sky. He spent a lot of time looking at it. He wanted others to see what he saw, but they were always too busy to listen to him.
Premio Internacional de Ilustración Bologna Children’s Book Fair-Fundación SM
The Bologna International Children's and Youth Book Fair, known for its special dedication to children's book illustration, and the SM Foundation, one of whose main objectives is the promotion of children's books and reading, launched in 2009 this award, which seeks to promote the work of artists under 35 years of age, whose works have been selected by the Bologna Fair to include them in the Illustrators Exhibition that is shown during its celebration.
About the SM Foundation
The SM Foundation is a non-profit educational institution that works so that, through education and culture, no girl or boy is left behind.
It focuses all its initiatives on improving equity and educational quality. It is backed by more than forty-five years of experience in the development of educational and cultural projects in Spain and Latin American countries.
The SM Foundation allocates the benefits derived from SM's business activity to programs that, through education, seek to contribute to a more inclusive, just, peaceful and sustainable world.
Communication SM Spain
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