TEHRAN – An online exhibition showcasing top works from several editions of the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) was launched on Sunday to celebrate National Children’s Week in Iran.

The exhibit is being organized by Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA, Kanoon).   

Works by 42 Iranian and foreign illustrators have been selected for the showcase available on kanoonnews.ir.

One of the top works of the exhibit is an illustration by Farshid Mesqail, the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1974.

Earlier in 2016, his illustrations chosen from “The Little Black Fish”, “The City of the Snakes”, “Arash, the Archer”, “I, the Hedgehog and My Doll” and several other books were showcased in an exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan.

The exhibition also features a work by Farshid Shafiei, who was nominated for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a prestigious Swedish honor to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the world.

Illustrations by Nureddin Zarrinkelk, Bahman Dadkhah, Hafez Miraftabi, Karim Nasr, Mohammadreza Dadgar, Alireza Golduzian and Hoda Haddadi are also on view at the showcase.

The Kanoon and several other Iranian children’s cultural centers celebrate National Children’s Week every year in October. This year’s festival is being organized from October 8 to 14.

Iranian artists have always been frequent visitors to the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), which is held in the capital of Slovakia.

This year’s BIB, which will take place from October 15, 2021 to January 9, 2022, will put seventeen books by Iranian illustrators on display.

A highlight of the collection is “You Are an Explorer” (also translated as “We Are Explorers”) by Ghazal Fathollahi.

The book written by Shahrzad Shahrjerdi has also been published by La Maleta, a publisher in the autonomous community of Asturias in northwest Spain.

“Lili, Where Are You?” written and illustrated by Taravat Jalali is another major book of the collection. The book aims to help children cope with loss and loneliness, as well as strengthen their skills of observation and problem-solving.

Photo: An illustration by Farshid Shafiei is on view at Kanoon’s online exhibition of top works of the Biennial Illustration Bratislava. 

MMS/YAW