BOLOGNA, Italy, March 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 26 2018, the opening day of the 55th Bologna Children's Book Fair, China, as the Guest of Honor Country, has amazed participants with a series of activities and programs. One activity entitled "Poetic Childhood with Ink and Wash Paintings-Chinese and Italian illustrators workshop and authors talk" became an instant favorite, getting the fair off to a good start.
Organized by Southern Publishing & Media Co., Ltd, the biggest publishing corporation in south China, the event invited Liang Pei-long, one of China's ten most famous children illustrators, and the award-winning illustrator Linda Pellicanò as guest speakers. Also at the event were He Zuming, Deputy General Manager at Guangdong Provincial Publishing Group, Hai Fei, former Director and Editor-in-Chief at China Children's Press and Publication Group, and You Shaobo, Deputy Director at Guangdong New Century Publishing House.
The event has provided a platform for dialogues on illustration between Chinese and Western illustrators. Among them was Liang Pei-long, a renowned master of Chinese painting from south China and the only state-class artist who specializes in children-themed ink and wash painting. His artpieces have enjoyed a high reputation from the art community for being light, soft, smooth, and natural. His illustration series "Poetic Childhood with Ink and Wash Paintings", tailor-made for the works of 6 well-known poets in China, is the winner of the 2017 Beauty of Books award in China. The western side was represented by the famous Italian illustrator Linda Pellicanò, whose works have been displayed at a wide range of illustration galleries in Bologna. Her work The Little Giant was selected for exhibition at the 2016 Bologna Children's Book Fair.
The role of the 2018 Guest of Honor Country has provided golden opportunities for the Chinese children's book publishing industry to go global and to expand its presence and influence on the international market. "There are plenty of aesthetic elements within children's books, such as lovely children and lively animals," the 74-year-old gentleman Liang pointed out, "but most of the modeling aesthetics derives from foreign aesthetic theories with little Chinese aesthetic elements. Therefore, emphasizing the Chinese aesthetic elements within children's books is the responsibility of Chinese illustrators."
