The winner of the 30th National Illustration Award, Catarina Sobral, described the distinction as an “instrument of resistance,” granting art the freedom to continue challenging and questioning. The statement was made after the inauguration of the XI “PIM! – Illustration Exhibition to Imagine the World,” at the novaOgiva Gallery, one of the key moments of FÓLIO – Óbidos International Literary Festival.
Catarina Sobral won the award for her illustration of the book “As Pessoas São Esquisitas” (People Are Strange), written by Victor Dias de Oliveira Santos. Two years prior, the same artist had also been awarded for her own work, “Fantasmas, bananas e avestruzes” (Ghosts, bananas, and ostriches).
The Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries (DGLAB) also granted honorable mentions to Madalena Matoso, illustrator of “Fantasmas,” and to Catarina Alves, responsible for the illustrations of “Natália Correia: Entre o riso e a paixão” (Natália Correia: Between laughter and passion). Both will receive 1,500 euros. Catarina Sobral will be awarded 10,000 euros, plus an additional 1,500 euros for the Bologna Children's Book Fair. “We created the award to recognize the work of artists. Thirty years later, we support the internationalization and promotion of Portuguese illustrators at the Frankfurt and Bologna fairs,” stated Bruno Eiras, deputy director of DGLAB.
“The strategy of these public policies is to encourage reading habits,” recalled Eiras. “These are three decades of immense national talent, to ensure that citizens have access to this extraordinary object [the book],” he added.
The 30th edition of the competition, promoted by DGLAB, featured 61 books from 47 illustrators, who explored various techniques and aesthetics, including emerging authors, “guaranteeing future generations.”
This edition of “PIM! – Illustration Exhibition to Imagine the World” showcases the work of over 150 artists from 20 countries. The theme “Beyond the skin” was considered challenging by curator Mafalda Milhões, who invited visual artist, curator, and illustrator Flávia Bomfim to “stitch meanings” and create installations. Bomfim, described as a “snake-woman who winds through multiple disciplines,” brought her interest in collective practices and discursive journeys to the exhibition.
Mafalda Milhões further noted that Ana Pessoa writes texts that offer readers the possibility to be reborn and activate their senses. “To think beyond the skin, it was necessary to look into the world's mirror, to reveal what is close and what affects us, to consider the epidermis as a territory full of life,” she explained. She added that the human dimension of the work is only possible “because we are an immense family. Books bring together people with different skins, who disagree, who are capable of deconstructing and rebuilding,” she said during the opening ceremony.
Flávia Bomfim highlighted that the exhibition is the result of “an exercise in dialogue with the artists,” encouraging attendees to view the gallery from different perspectives.
