Illuminate programme at Salon Livre Paris — a new opportunity for book illustrators by the Ukrainian Institute
The Ukrainian Institute announces a competition to participate in the Illuminate mobility programme for Ukrainian illustrators. Five participants from Ukraine will attend France's largest literary event - the Livre Paris Book Fair, which will take place from March 20 to March 23, 2020. The applications may be submitted through February 7, 2020.
The Ukrainian Institute launches the first programme in the field of literature - a professional mobility programme for Ukrainian illustrators called Illuminate. A special programme of the trip developed by the Ukrainian Institute will allow participants to get acquainted with representatives of foreign publishers, present their portfolios, visit institutions and galleries that cooperate with book illustrators, and take part in salon events.

Livre Paris (or Salon du Livre) is the most famous and largest event of the French literary scene. More than 150,000 people visit it every year, of which about 30,000 belong to the professional audience. The Salon is a platform for professional communication and a venue for more than 800 events. It will be held for the 33rd time in 2020.

"This year, the Ukrainian Institute is launching a number of programmes aimed at interaction with professional environments abroad," Iryna Prokofieva, Head of the Programme Department of the Ukrainian Institute, explains. "Last week, we announced the first Extra Sound competition - a programme to represent Ukraine at international music showcases. The Ukrainian Institute's Film sector launches the showcase programme of documentaries in Ukrainian — The Ukrainian Doc Preview. We support seven professional theaters that will attend the East-West International Theater Festival in Krakow. In the Literature sector, the Ukrainian Institute has decided to start with a professional mobility programme for Ukrainian illustrators. Interaction with professional environments at the international level is extremely important, as it is the first step towards the formation of sustainable professional communities and the building of long-lasting partnerships."

"The name of the programme is derived from the Latin word illumino — to illuminate, to decorate, and is reminiscent of the decoration of manuscripts illustrated compositions, the so-called illuminated manuscripts. One of the most famous of these manuscripts — the Paris Psalmbook - is stored in the French National Library in Paris. We find it symbolic that a pilot project with illustrators will be done in a city with long-lasting book art traditions", says Anastasia Denysenko, manager of the Literature sector of the Ukrainian Institute.

For the second year in a row, Ukraine is to participate in the Livre Paris Book Salon. Last year, thanks to the collaboration of the Ukrainian publishing house Rodovid, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the Embassy of Ukraine in France, the Ukrainian Book Institute and the Ukrainian Institute, a presentation of the book about the work of Sofia Yablonska was held at Livre Paris.