AS IN each autumn every other year, the Slovak capital is now the centre of book illustrations for children. From September 1 till October 26, the 23rd Bienále ilustrácií Bratislava (Biennial of Illustration Bratislava), or BIB, presents the winning works from its international competition among other events. “The goal is not so much the competition; BIB also enhances the views of people towards creation for children, as adults can see illustrations from different countries,” the jury chair, Murti Bunanta from Indonesia, told the SITA newswire.
The main venue, showing the competing artworks, is Dom umenia (House of Art) in SNP Square where 2,318 illustrations made by 356 artists from 44 countries for 458 children’s books are exhibited.
“We are happy to have attracted countries this year that had been missing for some years – like Indonesia, India, Canada, Romania, Georgia and Montenegro,” said BIB’s general secretary for 2011, Zuzana Jarošová, as quoted by SITA.
The event, organised by the Bibiana International House for Children also awards five BIB Golden Apples: this year, one of them stays in Slovakia. Seven illustrations by young artist Tomáš Klepoch in the book "Ako som sa stal mudrcom", written by the late Rudo Sloboda, were awarded a Golden Apple.
BIB’s accompanying events include exhibitions by individual authors, an international symposium and an international workshop for young artists named the BIB-UNESCO Workshop of Albín Brunovský.
