Ukrainian artist Maria Haiduk wins Bologna Illustrators Exhibition

Ukrainian artist and illustrator Maria Haiduk has won the 59th Bologna Illustrators Exhibition, held as part of the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Source: Bologna Children's Book Fair website Details: Haiduk, a student at the Lviv National Academy of Arts and a native of Kherson, received the award for her project Killing Gods, which explores the issue of ecocide and humanity's relationship with nature.

The jury members were impressed by her work and artistic potential, describing her illustrations as balancing "boldness with sensitivity". 

She became the youngest winner of the exhibition at 17 years old.

"I sincerely hope that this will help draw more attention to the issue of genocide that humans are committing against nature and animals. I would like to thank my mentors, Ivan Sergeev (Serbia) and Nina Ignatova (Spain), for their guidance, as well as Vitalii Zemlianskii, Dr. sc. nat., for his assistance in writing the scientific text (Zurich, Switzerland)," she wrote on her Instagram.

This year, the competition received entries from 4,374 illustrators across 89 countries, totalling 21,870 illustrations. A total of 324 artists reached the final, including five illustrators from Ukraine: Maria Haiduk, Oksana Drachkovska, Sofiia Kupriianova, Anna Ivanenko and Olesia Sekeresh.

About the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition The Bologna Illustrators Exhibition was founded in 1967 and has been held annually since then. The competition showcases the latest trends in illustration, promoting new talents among artists.

The works of all artists are published in the Illustrators Annual book - a comprehensive catalogue for publishers and illustrators worldwide, filled with commentary from jury members. The publication is in Italian and English, and it is distributed through international specialised bookshops. It is also published in Japanese by the Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY), in the Republic of Korea by CCOC, and in China by the Dandelion Picture Book House.

After the fair, the exhibition travels annually on international tours to museums, art galleries and significant libraries in Japan, Korea, China and other countries. The exhibition is organised as part of the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy. Background: In 2024, Ukrainian illustrators Polina Doroshenko and Oksana Domashych were among the winners at the exhibition.

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