A huge thanks to Jenny Desmond-Walters, Regional Advisor for SCBWI -Korea, who emailed me last week about an event she had recently attended and that she thought we might like to share it with our readers. We are delighted to share it! Jenny visited an exhibit called Voyage to the World of Illustration at the Seoul Arts Center. She was most impressed by what she saw:
Illustration work of 19 children’s picture book illustrators is on display. Several of the exhibits were designed by the illustrators themselves. There is one by French illustrator Herve Tullet that I loved. There are 8 Korean illus. on display, and the countries of UK, CZ, FR, US, JP, PL and IT are represented. Original artwork is on display in framed pieces along with multimedia exhibits and even a giant stuffed reproduction of a gorilla from one UK illus, Anthony Brown.
It’s a remarkable exhibit. It’s not often that children’s book illustrations
are given such attention and to be able to see examples of how certain illustrators have brought their creations to life is quite exhilarating. The piece designed by Herve Tullet where he attached each of his board books to a different kind of rope, chain, feather boa, or ribbon to match the style of his book was my favorite thing in the exhibit. Of course, the bigger-than-life sized gorilla flying in the air was pretty amazing too! I’d say for any writer or illustrator of children’s books, this exhibit will definitely ignite some fires in the imagination and inspire us along our chosen path.
The Paju Bookcity Book Festival for Children is taking place through the whole month of May, but has some super special events happening only May 1st - May 5th. There are performances, experiential events and tons of stuff to do. I’m excited about some of the upcoming events like visiting publishing companies on May 8th, 9th, and 20th. Also, the field trip to Book Making Sites on May 13th looks fun. Actually, every one of the events planned looks like something I would love to do. I guess I’ve got my work (or fun) cut out for me.
Click here to see more photos from the Voyage Exhibit and be sure to read PaperTigers current issue, where we pay tribute to the narratives for children, available in English, from/about Korea and the Korean diaspora.