Over the last 10 years children’s and teens' books focusing on art have become more popular and published. What’s the message worldwide publishers are trying to convey?Innovation in recent years is to be found in various publishing environments. In MOMA’s publishing  there have been works based on the lives of Magritte to Degas, Matisse to Sonia Selaunay, by mixing  words and illustration. Three of these books are available in Italian thanks to the Fatatrac publishing house.

Another mention goes to the stunning collaborative work of Dutch publisher Leopold and Den Haag’s Gemeentemuseum. They have created powerful stories, able to convey their selected artists’ art contents properly.

Moreover, some publishers have released book series specifically dedicated to art for teens (In Italy, PPP, Piccola Pinacoteca Portatile by Topipittori, awarded previously at BRAW), and the french Palette, just to mention a few. Some other publishers have specific segments dedicated to single artists, or movements, or smaller art stories. Sharing content, form, colours and lives with kids is a cultural choice. It takes the will to make the young readers familiar with an extraordinary world, which needs to be part of everyday life. 
 

What were the main criteria for evaluation required in Art Books, this year’s special sategory?
I considered the quality of the whole product, the blend of contents and forms. Other criteria were the peculiarities, and the ability to share history of art as both a word and visual experience.

A number of  areas of art have been portayed to children through notable publications. Which other areas do you feel is still missing from the general offering?
Absentees are many as the history of art is wide and long. This is an opportunity for publishers dealing with this segment to grow. I think the publishing industry should have a 360° view, reviving not just the Reinassance, but also Pistoletto’s poetics, it should talk about Artemisia Gentileschi but also Sissi’s world and Marina Abramovic’s universe. I won’t talk of absentees. I’ll point to the future books dealing with those absentees.