For the second year in a row, Faberllull Olot is hosting a paid creative residency for five illustrators from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. During the residency, the illustrators will work on projects proposed by five international publishers. The residency aims to promote the publication of authors from Catalonia and the Balearic Islands abroad, while also encouraging international publishers to engage with professionals from these regions.
About fifty candidates applied to the open call to participate in the stay and present their work proposals to publishers Limonero (Argentina), 400 coups (Canada), Père Fouettard i Nathan (France), Zalozba Hart (Slovenia), Camelozampa (Italy) and Little Island (Ireland).
After analysing all the material, the publishers chose five illustrators:
Anna Font (Barcelona) will illustrate the book Vida y obra de algunes nubes, by the Argentine publisher Limonero, with text by Hernán Rosino;
Laia Baldevey (Sant Vicenç de Montalt), who illustrates a text by the Italian publisher Camelozampa based on the antagonists of Perrault's classic stories;
Mar Guixé (Berga) works with the French publisher Père Fouettard on a project on social justice and climate issues with water and birds;
Eulàlia Miró (Barcelona) will work on a children's illustrated book by the Slovenian publisher Zalozba Hart, written by Barbara Hanus;and
Ingrid Valls (Barcelona) is creating the illustrations for a children's book by the publisher Les 400 Coups de Canada, written by Rhéa Dufresne.
Schedule of activities:
As part of the creative residency which end on 11 October, the participants will work intensively on drawing the pages and will hold remote meetings with the publishers to monitor their progress. Today, they are attending two training sessions on structuring scripts for children's albums and understanding the publishing sector, including strategies for internationalising portfolios.
The illustrators also take part in numerous activities in the city of Olot. On Thursday, 3 October, Laia Baldevey gave a talk on the antagonists of stories at the Marià Vayreda Library. On Saturday, the 5th, Anna Font will lead a workshop for children at the Isop Bookstore on how to create characters. And on Wednesday, 9 October, Mar Guixé will give practical advice on making a career in the art of illustration, to the students of the Escola d'Art d'Olot.
