Maisie Shearing has won the 7th edition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair - Fundación SM International Award for Illustration. The winner was announced today at the publishing fair currently taking place at BolognaFiere. Shearring was selected from more than 3000 participants from 70 countries, while the judges examined over with 15 thousand works. Born in 1991, Maisie Shearring is a British illustrator and a graduate of the Cambridge School of Art.
As winner she will receive 30 thousand dollars and the task of illustrating a book to be published by the SM Group. The book will be presented at the 2016 edition of the Fair, where Maisie Shearring is also due to hold a personal exhibition of her work. The expert jury made the following comments.
"We found in this illustrator all of the characteristics that, in our opinion, are necessary for the art of illustration: a balance of colour, the capacity to create credible living characters; narrative strength, thanks to which each image is a fragment of an evolving story with a 'before' and an 'after'; the depth of the illustration, a sign that goes beyond the superficial and transcends the mere act of drawing. We were unanimous in our selection due to this illustrator's subtle sense of humour in the works on display, mixing nostalgia with a feel for the poetic. We feel that this young artist has huge potential to evolve and to develop an original voice within the current panorama of illustration".
The prize was established with the aim to encourage and support new talent by bringing the work of young illustrators to the attention of a specialist public from the publishing sector. Since its first edition in 2009 the prize has been open to those illustrators under the age of 35 with works on display at the Illustrators' Exhibition of the Children's Book Fair.
Following the conclusion of the event in Bologna the Illustrators' Exhibition will depart on its annual journey in collaboration with the JBBY, Japanese Board of Books for Young People. As has been the tradition for the last 30 years the exhibition will be displayed in a number of art museums across Japan.