Taiwan Pavilion Opening－A Great Success at 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair
The Taiwan pavilion at the 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair opened to great acclaim on March 26th. Organized by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation under the auspices of Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, the pavilion is themed “Library of the Fantastic” this year. Located at booth A153 in Hall 25, next to UK and US publishing heavyweights, the library-themed pavilion drew praises from the showgoers for its eye-catching design.
The pavilion highlights Taiwan’s accomplishment in establishing itself as a cultural brand, said Javier Ching-shan Hou, Taiwan’s representative to Italy, who came from Rome for the opening ceremony. Hou lauded the creativity demonstrated by the country’s booming picture book industry while emphasizing the commitment to join efforts between the ministries of culture and foreign affairs in promoting the works of local authors in European countries.
Curator Page Tsou (right) talks about the design of the Taiwan Pavilion on the Opening Ceremony.
A stellar cast of visitors graced the pavilion with their presence on the opening day. These include former Publishers Association of New Zealand president Kevin Chapman, executive director of the Korean Publishers Association Il-Woo Joo, Birgit Fricke of the Frankfurt Book Fair representative, Ruben Padilla of the Guadalajara International Book Fair, International Publishers Association president Michiel Kolman, along with various publishing professionals from around the world.
International professionals visiting the Taiwan Pavilion.
Many of the visitors said they were impressed with the diverse selection of book titles and illustrations available at the pavilion. According to event curator Page Tsou, the lush colors green and yellow adorning the venue represent Taiwan’s agreeable climate as well as the country’s rich produce, such as rice and bananas. He further explained, “Green and yellow are symbols of various cultural concepts which serve to introduce Taiwan’s image in the global arena.”
The Taiwan Pavilion was themed "Library of the Fantastic," and had successfully created a serene and elegant atmosphere.
International media also showed significant interest in the development of the Taiwanese publishing market. The remarkable performance by Taiwan’s online bookstores and revenues generated by the local children’s book industry were profiled in the Publishers Weekly’s Bologna edition. The London-based lifestyle magazine Monocle also interviewed Hsin-yi Foundation’s editor-in-chief, Wei-chung Liu, at the pavilion for the current status and future development of children’s books in Taiwan.
Taiwan Pavilion attracted many visitors at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
Four celebrated illustrators Chu-li Chen, Jimmy Liao, Leo Tang, and Page Tsou are featured in this year’s Taiwan pavilion. Liao drew a capacity crowd at the launch of the Italian version of his book The Rainbow of Time at Bologna’s Giannino Stoppani bookstore the day before the opening ceremony. Furthermore, book signings by Liao and Tang on opening day saw the attendance of fervent supporters who came all the way from Florence. There were even some visitors who came from Taipei simply for Liao’s signature as they did not get a queue card at the Taipei International Book Exhibition earlier this year. Their passion is once again testimony to the unique allure of Taiwanese illustrators and their works showcased at the pavilion.