ركـــن الرسامين

ILLUSTRATOR'S CORNER

25 أبريل - 1 مايو 2018 25 April - 1 May 2018

Official Media PartnerGuest of Honour

CONTENTS

Introduction5

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Illustrator’s

Speakers

Programme

Guest of Honour

Welcome to the 28 edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF), where the Guest of Honour this year is Poland.

The Illustrator’s Corner is part of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair’s (ADIBF) strategy to make its halls and open spaces a hub for knowledge, creativity, and innovation in the field of bookmaking.

In this corner, we will draw on the diverse experiences of a selected group of talented illustrators from all over the world who are interested in fostering an understanding of the images that accompany books. As part of ADIBF’s wide range of activities to help stimulate and launch the imagination, the illustrators will also give visitors an opportunity to participate in creating images for picture books, and offers workshops for aspiring writers.

Where Imagination & Creativity Meet

Guest of Honour

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Is an artist, illustrator, PhD student and academic teacher of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Poland, where she leads the studio of the Basics of Illustrative Design. Uryniuk is author of the educational-artistic platform Balticarium.com, which received honorary patronage from the Polish Ombudsman for Children. She had the honour of receiving an award from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland for the most talented art and design students. She has participated in numerous international art exhibitions and has illustrated the children’s books Play in Gdańsk, On The Trail of Kashubia and the Baltic activity book Balticarium.

Natalia Uryniuk

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Is a painter and graphic designer who has crafted a personal, unique style, skillfully utilizing abstraction and symbolism. Her paintings have been presented in numerous exhibitions in Europe, the USA and the United Arab Emirates, and she created illustrations for many children’s books, including: Tales from the United Arab Emirates, Ugly Saber, How the Fox Got a Bad Reputation, Fatherly Advice, The Beautiful Afra and the Ugly Maitha, Aisha and the Snake, The Smart Shaheen, Warda, Abbas, How Little Tahir Resolved His Mistake, and Fairy-Tale Emirates. She represents the Polish publisher Media Rodzina.

Ufuk Kobas Smink

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Illustrator’s

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Is an author, book illustrator and comic artist, scenographer, lecturer in illustration at the Art Academy of Latvia and an art editor with the publishing house Liels un mazs. She is also known as the author of the idea and the art editor of Bikibuks, a series of 100 pocketsize poetry picture books. In 2017 she was awarded the International Baltic Sea Region Jńnis Baltvilks Prize in literature and book art in The Young Growth Prize category for her debut as the author and illustrator of Kaiju karalienes noslńpums (The Mystery of the Queen of Seagulls).

Ruta Briede

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Is winner of the Portuguese Illustration Award (2000), the Gulbenkian Award (2004), and the Award of Excellence for Illustration by the Society for News Design (USA). His books have been published in the USA, England, Spain and Turkey, and in 2009 he founded his own publishing house, Pato Lógico Edições. Letria has participated in international exhibitions such as the Biennial of Bratislava, the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, Sarmede and Ilustrarte, and he participated as a juror for the Bologna Digital Award. Born in Lisbon in 1973, he has directed animated films, created theatre set designs, and worked as an illustrator since 1992.

André Letria

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Hasan IdelbiIs an experienced painter and cartoonist engaged in both visual and scripted media. He currently works at the UAE Arabic newspaper Al-Roeya. He has held dozens of exhibitions, workshops, and lectures in and outside the Arab world that have attracted dignitaries. His most recent exhibitions include “Antar and Able,” held at the School of Islamic Heritage in Sharjah.

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Dose of SpaceIs a group of four Emirati artists that takes inspiration from space and galaxies to make art. The artists, Aamna, Mouza, Mahra and Aisha Alzaabi, are interested in all kinds of art and new techniques. They will be displaying their paintings, handmade gifts, and crochet projects.

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Is an Emirati graphic designer student from Zayed University. Her designs are known for their simplicity and well-detailed process. She is capable of working in layout design, logo design, and illustration and can develop detailed ideas and designs for campaigns, she has also participated in local and international exhibitions. She has experience working with different mediums and tools.

Ahlam Al Jaberi

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Is an Emirati artist who received her Bachelor’s degree in integrated communication from Zayed University. Art has been her passion since she was little, and Japanese animation and comics especially interested her at the time. She started drawing from a very young age, but took art seriously and developed her skills during her university years. She has produced merchandise, graphic novels, and paintings, and her 2016 comic story Turning Point received Abu Dhabi Comic Award from the Abu Dhabi Music and Art Foundation.

Asma Al Remeithi

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Ahmed Al TattanIs a Brand Strategist, Author, and lecturer, Brand Strategist and Author Ahmad authored “Alamat Arabia” (2015), a series of books which is the first to document and archive Arabic brands. Founded Altattan Branding House in 2009, as well as Brandin’ You, a Bahrain-based publishing house with a specialty in graphics design. He is also the co-founder of Packagin’ You, a packaging design business that aims to elevate the industry in Oman, and the entire region. In addition to that he conducted several training sessions and lectures in the GCC. He holds a degree in chemical engineering and has started his career as graphic designer at al-Ayam newspaper and De-Studio before launching his first company.

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Moza Al TeneijiIs an art enthusiast who chose the path of technical studies. Though she cast aside her passion for her career, her love of creating never subsided, and she wants to inspire all art enthusiasts out there.

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Fatima Al BustaniIs an illustrator and graphic designer focused on children’s books. She works on interesting and unusual mixed-media illustration, and loves exploring and experimenting with a range of creative media. Her technique starts with a focus on composition. She then decides on the illustration elements, creates a structure for the visual story, and then chooses a unique mix of media that fits the story. Al Bustani was born in Manama, Bahrain, lived in the UK, Beirut, and Frankfurt, and currently resides in Abu Dhabi. She holds a BFA in graphic design from the American University of Beirut.

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Mona YakzanReceived the 2017 Etisalat Award for Children’s Books and has illustrated many children’s books in the Arab world and Europe. The Lebanese/Greek-Cypriot artist studied graphic design with an emphasis on print at Frederick University in Nicosia, Cyprus before continuing her studies in digital and motion graphics at the Lebanese American University in Beirut and in England. She has also created many short, animated movies and participated in several animation and stop-motion animation workshops in the Arab world, Cyprus and Czech Republic.

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Sumaia AlamoodiIs an Emirati visual art student at Zayed University- Abu Dhabi, who specializes in illustration, fine arts and graphic design. Her artwork has been on exhibit nationally, and she is the author, illustrator and designer of three published books. She is an avid designer who has worked on over 40 design projects in her young career, and she has directed, filmed and edited a number of short films, which have won several distinguished awards. She has also worked as an artist research assistant, artist teaching assistant, and an exhibition curator assistant.

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Romer QuindaraIs an artist from the Philippines working as a graphic designer in Abu Dhabi. He is a fan of game art, comic books, movies and TV shows, and this influence is clearly reflected in his work. He prefers to paint digitally using drawing tablets, but from time to time he sketches and paints traditionally. He is currently looking for a full-time job doing what he loves for a living.

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Charisse MellizaHas been working as a graphic designer in Dubai for almost 13 years. She has created illustrations for three children’s books, Mama & Asha by Carolyn Rohrbaugh, The Cuddling Ghost by Juan Sauvageau, and Funny – Foot & The Woon of Bink by Kim Stickrath. Her own illustrated handmade book, The Secret World of the Faerie Patch, was showcased at the 2017 UAE’s Art Book Fair, and two of her watercolor pieces were displayed at Domino’s All Square Illustration Exhibition at the Jamjar gallery in Dubai. Melliza was born in the Philippines and holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, with a major in advertising.

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Dania El-KhatibIs a Lebanese illustrator, graphic designer and 2D animator. Since she started 12 years ago, she has illustrated and designed children books for 30 publications. She works with many Lebanese and foreign organisations, coordinating, designing and illustrating projects promoting health, social awareness and education. She has also conducted workshops in illustration and the history of art in public and private schools. She holds a diploma of higher education in arts and archeology from the Lebanese University’s Faculty of Letters and Humanities and is currently finishing her Master’s degree in the history of art and archeology.

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Nadine SidaniHas worked with the most prestigious publishing houses in Lebanon and the Arab world and has more than 85 illustrated books. She has won several awards such as the UNESCO Award in Bratislava for the book My Friend and the 2009 Etisalat Award in Sharjah for the book Ana Oheb (I Love). Sidani was born and raised in Beirutand graduated in fine arts from the Lebanese American University.

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Fadi SalamaHas more than eight years of experience in the fields of design, animation and children’s illustrations, and has worked for television channels, magazines, and children’s book publishers in Lebanon, the Arab world and China. He has participated in numerous national, Arab and international exhibitions. Salama graduated from the faculty of fine arts at Lebanese University in 1999, and he holds various specialization certificates in the field of graphics, including desktop publishing.

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Simar HalwanyIs a Lebanese artist, specialized in painting and etching. She holds a Master’s degree in illustration from Mimaster Illustrazione in Milan and a B.A. in fine arts. In 2008, she became a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, participating in the annual Arts Exhibition at The House of Arts in Sharjah. Since then, she has been working as a freelancer illustrator for children’s books with many well-known authors from Lebanon and the Middle East. In 2017 she published her first picture book Boo, which she wrote and illustrated, and for which she won the 2017 Al Fikr Al Arabi 21 Award.

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Noura Al MazroueiIs a digital and traditional artist. She has developed her skills through experimentation with the assistance of a mentor in the beginning. She wishes to be an artist loved and appreciated by many because she creates a world that people can get immersed in. It is her wish to bring special designs to an international audience. She currently works more on digital illustration because it saves time and money.

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Bedoor AlshehhiIs a 20-year-old self-taught artist who is still developing her skills. She has discovered herself through semi-realistic and anime art, and has found a love of space. She has participated in a number of art competitions and art exhibitions, including Emirate’s Skills at the Art Hub Gallery. She finds passion in art, and it takes her to dimensions beyond reality.

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Pia FajelagutanIs a poet and illustrator based in Dubai. She is the primary illustrator engages mostly in illustration projects for posters, comics, magazines, books, logos and other commissioned work. She also designs characters and illustrates designs for clothing. In recent years, her work has been featured globally in various online publications including Dubai Poetics, picture books, magazines, newspapers and merchandise for independent wrestling circuits. Currently, Fajelagutan is working on collaborations with other fellow artists and authors around the world. She earned her degree from Heriot-Watt University.

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Mohammed AljneibiIs a self-taught artist who specialises in surreal, comic, and horror illustration. His mediums include graffiti, watercolour, ink, markers and digital art. His recent and forthcoming works include two surrealistic art books, a comic book, and two stories for kids written by Salha Gabish. He has participated in numerous cultural events including the Khorfakkan Theatrical Festival, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s Earth Hour, World Art Dubai, the Middle East Film and Comic Con, and Dubai Mall Wall Art. He also did 46 paintings on the beach at La Mer for UAE National Day.

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Ruth BurrowsHas worked in the UAE event industry for more than 17 years as a concept design specialist, visualizer, and décor stylist. Ruth loves working with a narrative and her theatre background has led her naturally into illustration projects for books and other commercial projects. Her recent illustration projects include Kameel’s Little Secret by Hassan Al Marashi for Explorer Publishing. Ruth also manages Designpod, a very busy event design and supply company based in Abu Dhabi.

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Speakers

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Marta IgnerskaIs sometimes called the Pablo Picasso of Polish illustration, and with good reason. The talented young illustrator has won the Bologna Ragazzi Award, known as the Oscar of picture-book design, three times, and her books have been published by prestigious Polish, French, Italian, and Norwegian houses. She is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and works in design, graphic art, and press illustration.

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Marianna OklejakDraws designs books, posters and CD covers, and sews. She is the illustrator of Basia, a popular series of books for children, and her illustrations have won prizes and nominations awarded by the Polish Section of International Award on Books for Young People or IBBY. Oklejak has previously been a finalist in two prestigious contests held in South Korea, namely the CJ Picture Book Award (2010) and Nami Island (2017). Her works have been exhibited in Poland and abroad. She graduated with honours from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

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Ute KrauseHas been working as a children’s book writer and illustrator for the past 30 years. She has illustrated nearly 400 books and written 22 more. Her work has been turned into films for children’s T.V. and radio plays and has been translated into many different languages. Six of her books have been translated by Abu Dhabi translation initiative KALIMA into Arabic. Her picture book Oscar and the Very Hungry Dragon (also translated into Arabic) was nominated for the Florida Reading Association Award, the Montana Treasure State Picture Book Award, and the Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award 2012.

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Ornella Antar Is a Lebanese journalist. For the last two years, she has been working for the French-language daily newspaper “L’Orient-Le Jour”, in its domestic social and political news section. During her 7 year journalistic career, Ornella has worked for the Lebanese newspaper “As Safir”. In addition, she continues to contribute articles regularly to the electronic “Al Moudoun” and “Al Arabi Al Jadid” newspapers, as well as the Arabic children’s literature review “Al Mirsal”. She also prepares reports on a variety of political and social topics for MTV Lebanon. She is pursuing her MA in French Language at the Lebanese University.

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Has been serving as director-general of the Dauir Printing House since November 2003. During these years the enterprise, the leading producer of domestic magazines, newspapers and white glossy paper, has been completely modernized and has been awarded numerous honorary certificates. For her work Nazarbayeva has been given the Parasat order and an honorary diploma from the Minister of Education of the USSR. She is a graduate of the Abay Kazakh National Pedagogical University.

Alise Nigale

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Is the world’s first multilingual educational platform for learning about Baltic Sea animals. With the support of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the honorary patronage of the Polish Ombudsman for Children, Balticarium aims to bring together art, culture, and science surrounding the Baltic Sea environment and its animals in an engaging and meaningful way. The platform publishes educational games, illustrations and interesting articles, which have already been translated into nine languages, conducts educational activities, and participates in various international events. The project was awarded Poland’s Social Campaign of the Year in 2016.

Balticarium

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Programme

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25th April • Wednesday

Words are never Enough

In children’s literature illustrations are as important as the writing of the book. The relationship between the story and the illustrations is based on a certain balance between the ability of the pictures to represent the text without taking away the pleasure of imagination from the child or going too far from the text. What kind of relationship must the writer and the illustrator have? How do you find a common ground between both artists? And what is the publisher’s role in helping the two come together and collaborate to give birth to a book that will hold both signatures?

Illustration Today: New trends in the publishing of illustrated books

Can illustrators tell stories? Are writers and publishers prepared to share fame, profit, and fun with illustrators? Illustrators are seen, today more than ever, as authors. How does this perspective change the way books are conceived? Using the Portuguese environment as a guide, André Letria, illustrator and publisher of Pato Lógico, offers a personal view on new trends in publishing of illustrated books through examples of his own work and the work of illustrators published by him.

Speaker: Ornella Antar

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 am

Speaker: Andre Letria

Time: 6:00 – 6:45 pm

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26th April • Thursday

Mountains inside Me: How I Became an Illustrator

During this presentation, Briede will describe how she became an illustrator and what her main difficulties, surprises, and achievements were. Discover her perspective of the artistic life and how illustration is as a profession.

A Book Must Be Good, Wise, and Beautiful

Award-winning Polish illustrator Marta Ignerska will lead a discussion based on four of the books she has illustrated: Dziewczynka z cienia (The Little Girl from the Shadow) by Jan Karp, a book about death, wartime experiences and art; Babcia robi na drutach (Granny Knits) by Uri Orlew, a book dealing with otherness, hope, and the search for one’s own place in the world, against a backdrop of the Holocaust; Trylogia gdanska – opowiesci o wielkich gdanszczankach (The Gdansk Trilogy – Stories about the Great Women of Gdansk) by Anna Czerwinska-Rydel, a book about women fighting to pursue their dreams; and Psikusy (Pranks) by Magda Jurek and Małgorzata Gurowska, an activity book serving to familiarise children with the idea that in society there’s a place for everyone, no matter if they’re white, brown or rainbow-coloured.

Speaker: Ruta Briede

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 am

Speaker: Marta Ignerska

Time: 7:00 – 7:45 pm

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Speaker: Marianna Oklejak

Time: 6:00 – 6:45 pm

Speaker: Natalia Uryniuk

Time: 7:00 – 7:45 pm

“Play it by ear!” A story about working with illustration, folk art, intuition, and our downsides

As we grow bigger, we forget how it feels to be a child. Our minds become molded and stiff, and unfortunately this affects our creativity. As an illustrator, I will share my experience to show you how I found true inspiration in traditional folk art and how this can be a healthy booster to our imagination, whether you are a professional artist or not.

Balticarium: Illustrating an underwater world

In her talk, artist Natalia Uryniuk will discuss what inspired her to share the magic of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe with children in her homeland of Poland and abroad through the power of art. Her project, Balticarium.com, is meant not only to show children the variety of sea life but to help us all appreciate and respect the environment we share. Join us as she discusses the birth of her project and her other work, including international exhibitions from Portugal to China.

27th April • Friday

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28th April • Saturday

What makes a children’s book work?

What kind of illustrations appeal to children and to parents? Which ones don’t? What makes an illustration work and why? How can an illustrator enhance the story through illustrations and work closely with the author in creating a successful book? What is important when presenting your work to publishers? What about your rights? These are just some of the questions that author and illustrator Ute Krause will approach in her session. She will give examples out of her many years of experience and engage in questions and answers with the audience.

Speaker: Ute Krause

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 am

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28th April • Saturday

From Illustration to Publication: Stories for early childhood

Simar will explain the purpose of her work, her illustrations and scripts which allow children to live in “a familiar environment, where they are naturally motivated to adapt to and explore different contexts, experiences and relationships, and to light up their imagination”. she will also discuss the process of illustration which will focus on listing steps and tasks needed to finalise artwork such as: organising the storyboard, drawing sketches, choosing the characters, elaborating the script, and editing and preparing the moc up of the book. Simar will detail her partnership with various printing houses and the methods she has used to market her work and develop relationships with the respective printing houses. she will also discuss the path from publication and nomination to awards, by listing the factors that have supported her books to nomination. Finally she will highlight the lessons learnt from her previous experiences, based on the interrelation between script-writing and publication as well as the recommendations given by the members of the selection jury for awards.

Speaker: Simar Halwany

Time: 7:00 – 7:45 pm

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29th April • Sunday

The Beginning of the Becoming

For three years Briede has taught illustration at the Art Academy of Latvia, where her teaching process is extremely focused on what kind of illustrator students can become. She will also tell us about her experience and the outcome of her teaching method.

Case study: Bikibuks: The Rediscovery of Poetry

This series of 100 small picture books feature a wide scale of outstanding children’s poetry, visually interpreted for children by artists of different styles and genres by graphic artists, painters, stage designers, textile artists and animators. The series helps develop young readers’ aesthetic taste by introducing them to the marvellous school of diverse thinking.

Speaker: Ruta Briede

Time: 11:00 – 11:45 am

Speakers: Alise Nigale Ruta Briede

Time: 6:00 – 6:45 pm