LONDON.- The overall and category winners were announced on Wednesday 3 August at Somerset House in London for the World Illustration Award 2016, marking the 40th year of the
Association of Illustrator’s annual awards.
Announced by The Association of Illustrators’ Patron David Hughes, Jimin Kim and Jungho Lee were the overall winners in Professional and New Talent respectively. Books category judge, Daehyun Kim, comments on the two overall winners: “I get the impression that the participants are interested in expressive technique to showcase their style. Jungho Lee’s picture book is distinguished not just because of his outstanding technique, but great imagination. I think this is why the jury chose his book as the overall winner.
I really enjoyed Jimin Kim’s little book. I wanted to peek through the little holes to discover fractions of personality. The title, the story, and the cut-out technique are just in perfect harmony.
I'm so proud of the result of the competition!”
The Association of Illustrators Chairman, Andrew Coningsby says: “The World Illustration Awards are gaining in global significance and reach. The UK leads the field for illustration, and The Association is proud to be presenting these awards in partnership with the Directory of Illustration in the US and with Somerset House in central London. In a crowded visual economy, winning awards can make all the difference for illustrators and benefit commissioners and commissioning companies. A WIA award is a kite mark of quality.”
The World Illustration Awards is presented by the Association of Illustrators in partnership with the Directory of Illustration in California and Somerset House in central London. Works are presented in an annual exhibition held at Somerset House’s Embankment East Galleries throughout August.
This year’s awards are the most international yet with entries from 66 countries across the globe. In his catalogue essay, Julius Wiedemann (Editor at TASCHEN) notes ‘Communicating through images crosses cultural barriers, imaginary frontiers, and transports us through time and space. Different to photography, which we instinctively associate with documentation, illustration is instinctively associated with imagination.’ The touring exhibition, opening at Somerset House on 1 August, combines over 50 works from the breadth of illustration from GIFs to sculpture, from advertising campaigns to editorial and children’s books.
Winners are:
Overall Winner New Talent: Jimin Kim
Overall Winner Professional: Jungho Lee
Winner - Advertising New Talent: Julinu
Winner - Advertising Professional: Forge & Morrow
Winner - Books New Talent: Jimin Kim
Winner - Books Professional: Jungho Lee
Winner – Children’s Books New Talent: Ami Shin
Winner – Children’s Books Professional: Alex T. Smith
Winner - Design Professional: Ella Cohen
Winner - Design New Talent: Thoka Maer
Winner - Editorial New Talent: Nancy Liang
Winner - Editorial Professional: Matt Huynh
Winner - Public Realm Professional: Brian Gallagher
Winner - Public Realm Professional: Diego Becas Villegas
Winner - Research & Knowledge Communication New Talent: Eun Jung Bahng
Winner - Research & Knowledge Communication Professional: Florian Bayer
Winner - Self Initiated New Talent: Eunjoo Lee
Winner - Self Initiated Professional: Gigi Rose Gray
The exhibition, comprising over 50 works from across the breadth of illustration runs from 1 – 29 August at Somerset House before touring the UK throughout 2016-17.
