France – "Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino" debuts abroad

On the occasion of the next edition of the Festival du Livre de Paris (April 21-23, Grand Palais Éphèmere), in which Italy is Guest of Honour, the exhibition Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino will be presented abroad for the first time.
This is the fourth edition of the project on illustration for children promoted by Bologna Children’s Book Fair and Emilia-Romagna Region, curated by Accademia Drosselmeier/Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani and supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).

One hundred years after his birth, the exhibition pays tribute to Italo Calvino with 120 illustrations inspired by his literary production.

The exhibition, previewed last March as part of the 60th Bologna Children's Book Fair, consists of two parts.
The first one includes contributions by thirty-one established artists (Fabian Negrin, Alessandro Sanna, Roger Olmos, Emanuele Luzzati, Desideria Guicciardini, Giulia Orecchia, etc.), authors who in the past dealt with Calvino’s works such as the Italian Folktales or the novels of the “heraldic trilogy” Our Ancestors or Marcovaldo.
The second part presents the works by the thirty winners of an international competition promoted by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, open to candidates from all over the world – 521 joining artists, from 47 countries –, who offered their personal vision of the characters, places and themes of Calvino’s novels.

The exhibition catalogue, in a bilingual edition (Italian-English), is published by Mondadori.

After Paris, Italian Excellence. Illustrations for Italo Calvino will set off on an international tour thanks to the co-operation of the MAECI network of diplomatic and cultural Representations.