Award-winning illustrations from across the world will go on display at an art gallery in Hatfield.
     
From book covers to newspapers and packaging to murals, illustration is the visual language of everyday life.

The World Illustration Awards 2023 Touring Exhibition celebrates the engaging artform with a diverse range of styles, materials, and topics — featuring an extraordinary range of illustration practice.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Owen Gent, 'That's Nice, Love'Owen Gent, 'That's Nice, Love' (Image: Owen Gent)

A showcase of exciting new work by emerging talent and professional illustrators across the globe, UH Arts + Culture are thrilled to bring this exciting exhibition to the College Lane Campus, containing over 40 works of art from category winners, overall winners and highly commended projects.

Curator Elizabeth Murton said: “This fascinating touring exhibition allows us to enter a world of illustration and see how key this artform is to the world we experience — from books to product design, from posters to advertising.

"It provides us with an opportunity to revel in the illustrators’ imagination and skill.”

University of Hertfordshire Arts + Culture is hosting the exhibition at the Art + Design Gallery in Hatfield from February 23 to March 23, following a special opening reception on Thursday, February 22.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Orit Bergman and Anat Warshavsky, 'What Is More, Yellow or an Elephant'Orit Bergman and Anat Warshavsky, 'What Is More, Yellow or an Elephant' (Image: Orit Bergman and Anat Warshavsky)

The exhibition reveals the innovative ideas and techniques at the forefront of illustration today across vibrant industry sectors including advertising, children’s books, design and science.

Head of UH Arts + Culture, Inna Allen added: “UH Arts + Culture are delighted to showcase the exhibition within the fitting environment of the School of Creative Arts, where students and staff are developing and sharing their creative skills in degrees including Illustration and Graphic Design.”

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Heovers, 'It Is What It Is'Heovers, 'It Is What It Is' (Image: Heovers)

The exhibition includes the 20 category winners and 20 highly commended projects, as well as the four cross-category award winners, and two overall winners.

The winners were selected by an independent jury ranging from Disney creative director Angelica McKinley and Keir Novesky, design director at GQ, to Rachel Dickens, senior deputy art editor, BBC History Magazine, from a shortlist of 200 projects, drawn from over 5,000 entries from 84 countries.

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Sara Neuhart, 'Visual Thoughts on Current Affairs'Sara Neuhart, 'Visual Thoughts on Current Affairs' (Image: Sara Neuhart)

The World Illustration Awards are delivered by the Association of Illustrators (AOI) in partnership with the Directory of Illustration.

AOI CEO Rachel Hill said: “Our 2023 winners have truly mastered their crafts, skilfully utilising illustration to explore narratives, evoke emotions, and express complex ideas.

"We are proud to recognise and reward these winners for their important contributions to the illustration industry this year, made from all corners of the globe.”   

For full details go to UH Arts + Culture website www.uharts.co.uk