Mexico – The “Italian Excellences” of illustration protagonists at El Mes del Ilustrador
The international festival El Mes del Ilustrador is taking place in Villahermosa since May 8 to 26. The event is organized by the Secretaría de Cultura de Tabasco to promote the discipline of illustration, spread its culture and give voice to young people approaching the world of visual and graphic arts.
Italy is the Guest Country of this edition, and the exhibitions of the “Italian Excellence” collection are the great protagonists of the festival.
In fact, the Italian Cultural Institute in Mexico City and the Embassy of Italy in Mexico City have proposed the third and the new, fourth edition of the exhibition project on the Italian panorama of children’s illustration produced by Bologna Children's Book Fair, Emilia-Romagna Region and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and curated by Cooperativa Giannino Stoppani/Accademia Drosselmeier.
The Regional Museum of Anthropology 'Carlos Pellicer Cámara' hosts the exhibition “The New Generation of Italian Children’s Illustrators” – works by twenty of the most promising artists, aged between 23 and 35 –, while the cultural centre 'Galería de Arte El Jaguar Despertado' hosts “Illustrations for Italo Cavino" – a tribute to the great Italian writer on the occasion of the centenary of his birth with the works by thirty-one authors, previously published, plus a selection of thirty others identified by the jury of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Contest dedicated Illustrated Calvino.
And to give voice to young illustrators, various activities have also been organized in which some of the young artists on display are involved.
In particular, Michelangelo Rossato, who attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition “The New Generation of Italian Children’s Illustrators”, also presents his solo exhibition Sante, streghe e sirene (Saints, Witches, Sirens) and his book Frida Kahlo en su Casa Azul. Moreover, he will lead workshops for children, for adults and for aspiring illustrators.
Francesca Corso and Irene Penazzi will lead several workshops for children and teens and will attend two conferences on the illustrator's work and on the function of illustration in children's books.
The successful "Italian Excellence" project continues to travel the world and gather appreciation. The exhibition dedicated to young illustrators has just ended in Chongqing (eleventh stage in China) and is currently underway at the Vojtech Löffler Museum in Košice (after being in Bratislava in April), while the one dedicated to Calvino will soon be on display at the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest (May 24th).