The Association of Illustrators (The AOI), in partnership with the Directory of Illustration, has announced the return of the popular World Illustration Awards exhibition to Somerset House this summer. Featuring all 200 entries shortlisted for this year’s awards, with in-depth presentations of winning projects, the exhibition showcases the very best emerging and established illustrations from around the world today.
An independent jury of 24 commissioners and industry insiders including Josephine Kelliher, Art Program Manager at Facebook EMEA, Simon Khalil, Editor at Arab News and Kirstie Johnstone, Creative Production Partner at AMV BBDO, judged over 3,600 submissions from 68 countries in eight categories to select the shortlist.
From book covers to newspapers, packaging to murals, illustration is the visual language of everyday life. This exhibition celebrates this most engaging of art forms in its broadest sense. Showcasing a diverse range of styles, materials and topics, featuring an extraordinary range of illustration practice across vibrant industry sectors including Advertising, Children’s Books, Design and Editorial, the exhibition reveals the innovative ideas and techniques at the forefront of illustration today.
Highlighting cutting-edge work, such as a digital wallpaper that changes colour according to the position of the sun, alongside handmade pieces including an embroidered graphic novel, the exhibition features a range of materials and processes.
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Illustrator Tim Easley impressed the judges with a painstakingly- created circuit board made of plasticine to be used on the record sleeve for the band Modified Man. Olivier Kugler’s ‘Escaping Wars and Waves – Encounters with Syrian Refugees’ humanises the stories of the refugee crisis in a detailed and respectful reportage style. One of the quirkiest projects this year is ‘Small but Significant’ by Jingtong who created a whole universe out of collage and mixed media connected to her love of potatoes, including a potato museum and the ‘Potato Daily’ newspaper.
The Category and Overall winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held at Somerset House on 10 July, alongside the winners of three new cross-category awards, including an AOI Members Award, a Directory of Illustration Award, and the Society of Artists Agents Award for New Talent.