THE BIENNIAL event that started as a way out of a dire situation under communism, is now in its 24th year, and in addition to the main international competition of illustrators of children’s books at the House of Art in Bratislava’s SNP Square, it includes a host of other events, exhibitions and discussions, as well as a UNESCO workshop by Albín Brunovský in the Mojmírovce mansion.
“It (the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, or BIB) was launched in a time when our illustrators were not allowed to exhibit abroad, and thus we started inviting foreign artists to Slovakia,” general commissioner of BIB and chairperson of the International Committee BIB Zuzana Jarošová said at a discussion on October 11, which introduced four Slovak holders of the top BIB award, the Golden Apple, to Bratislava pupils. The laureates were, of a total of 16 who received the prize between 1967 and 2011, Martina Matlovičová-Kráľová, František Blaško, Ľuboslav Paľo and Peter Uchnár, the TASR newswire wrote.
The 24th year of the BIB has an international jury of 10 judges and 2,344 works from 446 books by 362 illustrators from 49 countries. Apart from the prizes awarded by jury – the Grand Prix, 5 Golden Apples, 5 Plaques and Honourable Mentions for publishing houses, the children’s jury, composed of six pupils aged between 9 and 14 from all over Slovakia, also selected one artist whose work they liked the most.
The main exhibition of the illustrators’ artwork can be visited in the House of Arts in SNP Square 12 in Bratislava until October 25. More information, also about other exhibitions and events, can be found at bibiana.sk.
