From 13 to 16 April in Athens, UNESCO Capital of Book 2018, "Illustration for Children: Italian Excellence" was on show for the occasion of the "Festival of Two Cultures Greece - Italy", the event organized at Technopolis by the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens in collaboration with the City of Athens and Comites-Greece, under the patronage of the Embassy of Italy in Greece and the Hellenic Ministry of Tourism. Then the Exhibition was hosted at the International Book Fair in Thessaloniki from 3 to 6 May.
Organized by the Bologna Children's Book Fair in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Madrid and the Culture Department of the Emilia-Romagna Region, this group of original works by 18 Italian illustrators undertook a long and successful international tour that saw it on stage in Madrid, Bologna, Berlin, Sofia, Beijing, Cairo, Tehran, Canton, Santiago de Chile, Athens and Thessaloniki.
On display are 72 original works by 18 Italian illustrators documenting the artistic career of artists who, over two generations, have given life to a a diverse set of styles and techniques for illustrated children’s books. The illustrators in the exhibition, all with their own special talents and who present the excellence of Italian illustration for children are: Beatrice Alemagna, Anna and Elena Balbusso, Chiara Carrer, Mara Cerri, Sara Fanelli, Philip Giordano, Roberto Innocenti, Federico Maggioni, Giovanni Manna, Lorenzo Mattotti, Simona Mulazzani, Simone Rea, Sergio Ruzzier, Arianna Vairo, Alessandro Sanna, Guido Scarabottolo, Pia Valentinis, Olimpia Zagnoli.
Among these artists, Philip Giordano enchanted adults and children in Athens during two workshops that were very successful with many people attending the events.
The next stage of the exhibition is in Peru from 20 July to 5 August, with the presence of the illustrator Pia Valentinis. The initiative is organized, on the occasion of the 23rd International Book Fair of Lima - FIL LIMA 2018, by the Italian Institute of Culture of Lima in collaboration with Bologna Children's Book Fair, Emilia-Romagna Region and under the patronage of Cámara Peruana del Libro, Peru.