Chinese Excellence in Children's Illustration

The “Chinese Excellence in Children’s Illustration 2026” is the third edition of an exhibition series that showcases the best contemporary Chinese illustrators selected each year by a different Jury of leading Chinese and international experts, contributing to building an outstanding overview of contemporary Chinese illustration providing the world community with a deeper understanding of this country’s immense cultural heritage.

The initiative, organized by BolognaFiere/Bologna Children’s Book Fair, China South Publishing & Media Group and Sìdee Cultural Communication, is inspired by the extraordinary experience of “Italian Excellence”, documenting the best of contemporary Italian illustration, and led by the mutual friendship established between Bologna Children’s Book Fair and China.

This year, the Jury selected 18 finalists and 2 winners who will be announced at Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2026, where the exhibition is on display.

A bilingual English-Chinese catalogue documents the works of both the finalists and the winners and include critiques by jury members.

The 2026 jury members are:

Elodie Bourgeois, Editorial Juventud; Cai Gao,  artist and picture book illustrator; Grazia Gotti, pedagogist; Chen Hui, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University, and Director of the China Picture Book Creation Research Centre; Øyvind Torseter, illustrators, cartoonists, and picture book authors; Chiang Hsun, scholar, aesthetician, as well as painter, poet, and author; Tian Zhongli, President of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Director of the Illustration and Book Binding Art Committee of the China Artists Association and Vice Chairman of the Beijing Artists Association.The “Chinese Excellence in Children’s Illustration 2026” is the third edition of an exhibition series that showcases the best contemporary Chinese illustrators selected each year by a different Jury of leading Chinese and international experts, contributing to building an outstanding overview of contemporary Chinese illustration providing the world community with a deeper understanding of this country’s immense cultural heritage.

The initiative, organized by BolognaFiere/Bologna Children’s Book Fair, China South Publishing & Media Group and Sìdee Cultural Communication, is inspired by the extraordinary experience of “Italian Excellence”, documenting the best of contemporary Italian illustration, and led by the mutual friendship established between Bologna Children’s Book Fair and China.

A bilingual English-Chinese catalogue documents the works of both the finalists and the winners and include critiques by jury members.

The 2026 jury members are: Elodie Bourgeois, Editorial Juventud; Cai Gao,  artist and picture book illustrator; Grazia Gotti, pedagogist; Chen Hui, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University, and Director of the China Picture Book Creation Research Centre; Øyvind Torseter, illustrators, cartoonists, and picture book authors; Chiang Hsun, scholar, aesthetician, as well as painter, poet, and author; Tian Zhongli, President of Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Director of the Illustration and Book Binding Art Committee of the China Artists Association and Vice Chairman of the Beijing Artists Association.