The Global Illustration Awards were presented for the very first time, Thursday 20 October, at the Frankfurter Buchmesse. With the awards, the Frankfurter Buchmesse and the International Information Content Industry Association (ICIA) have recognized illustrators in five categories: Cover Illustration, Children’s Book Illustration, Editorial Illustration, Scientific Illustration and Theme Illustration. The competition was administered by IlluSalon, an international online platform dedicated to the topic of illustration. The category presentations were accompanied by musical acts and dance performances. The Global Illustration Awards are intended to promote illustrations, while also creating a platform for the content industry.
Jacques Maes and Lise Braekers, the winners of the “Cover Illustration” category, were very happy with the creation of the new awards, saying “It’s a great opportunity for illustrators. It’s not an easy profession. There’s a lot of work involved and it’s difficult to find an audience, an agent or a publisher. The Global Illustration Award and illuSalon offer the chance to find future customers – or just to get noticed.” The Belgian duo, Maes and Braekers, have worked together for five years. They received the award for their cover illustration of the entirely pictorial children’s book “Oskar”.
