The exhibition Joy, Sadness and Hope. 25 Bulgarian Children’s Book Illustrators will be presented at the Bulgarian pavillion in the framework of the 61st Bologna Children's Book Fair. The selection was made especially for the international forum, which will take place from April 8 to 11, 2024.
Anton Staykov and Svoboda Tsekova are curators of the exhibition. The 25 selected contemporary Bulgarian illustrators of children’s books are from different generations and have a variety of professional experience behind them.
This selection is not a ranking, nor does it pretend to be comprehensive; rather, its goal is to draw the attention of the public and professionals to specific qualities and aspects of each artist’s work and to illuminate their approach to the literary text, the choice of medium, and compositional and narrative techniques – those achievements that formulate what we most generally call style, the curators say.
The exhibition is accompanied by a printed and online catalogue, and after Bologna it will be presented in various Bulgarian cities. The project was inspired by the magic of illustration to create worlds and heroes, to tell stories in a universal language, and is carried out with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria, the National Culture Fund, and the Culture Program of Sofia Municipality.
The artists participating in the exhibition are Alya Markova, Antonia Mechkueva, Vesselin Pramatarov, Vyara Boyadjieva, Denitza Mineva, Elitsa Serbinova, Iva Sasheva, Ina Hristova, Kalina Muhova, Katina Peeva, Kiril Zlatkov, Lilyana Dvoryanova, Lyuba Haleva, Martin Stanev, Miglena Papazova, Mila Yaneva-Tabakova, Mira Miroslavova, Penko Gelev, Siyana Zaharieva, Sotir Gelev, Sofia Popyordanova, Stella Dreis, Youlian Tabakov, Yana Kazakova and Yassen Grigorov.
