The "Bologna Portfolio Award" aims to recognize the illustrator's portfolio as a fundamental tool for professional development, emphasizing its primary role as a means to access new job opportunities and as a communication tool between the illustrator and key players in the publishing industry.
The purpose of the initiative is to highlight those characteristics of the portfolio, such as clarity of presentation and consistency of language, that make it a professional facilitator between the world of creativity and content production.
The award is organised by Bologna Children's Book Fair and curated by Mimaster Illustrazione
After its debut at the Guadalajara fair, the new "Bologna Portfolio Award" had its first Italian stop at the Bologna Children's Book Fair 2025. On this occasion, participation in the award was exclusively dedicated to the finalist illustrators of the 2025 Illustrators Exhibition, as a recognition of their talent.
The qualification phase for the final selection of the winner took place on April 3rd as part of the "Portfolio Marathon 2025" initiative, held within "The Illustrators Survival Corner" program during the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
The portfolios of the finalists who passed the "Portfolio Marathon 2025" selections were re-evaluated by an international jury comprising Maria Russo, Editor at Large (Union Square Kids); Vicente Ferrer, Publisher (Media Vaca); and Justinas Vancevičius, Head of the Children's and Youth Literature Center at the National Library of Lithuania.
For this edition of the Bologna Portfolio Award - BCBF25, the prize is a trip to the China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair 2025 (November 14-16). This offers an opportunity to connect with Chinese and Asian publishers and to be a key participant in the activities of The Illustrators Survival Corner program, which will take place during the fair.
The jury declared illustrator Elisa Carareto Alves as the winner of the Bologna Portfolio Award - BCBF25.
Justification: "Elisa's portfolio stands out due to a multitude of aspects that make it an effective and impactful communication product.
In particular, the jury appreciated the clarity of the layout and the organization of content, aided by a colorful navigation bar that allows for an at-a-glance distinction of each image's specific editorial destination. The information provided, including biography and captions, was also commended for its conciseness and effectiveness, striking the right balance between the space dedicated to images and the necessity of providing context.
The rhythm of the portfolio's sequence demonstrates a design-oriented mindset, a sense of storytelling that guided the selection and placement of content. This latter aspect was further enhanced by the alternation of pages dedicated to pure illustration with others featuring contextualized"
GRADUATORIA FINALE BOLOGNA PORTFOLIO AWARD - BCBF25
A sincere thank you to the reviewers involved in the qualification phase, who evaluated the portfolios during the Portfolio Marathon 2025:
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