Le immagini della fantasia
Le Immagini della fantasia is an International event which aims to bring to the public eye illustration in its multitude of styles, whilst attempting to capture the unique creative quality of every author’s path within a worldwide context.
History and features
The idea of setting up the Exhibition was conceived in 1982 by Štěpán Zavřel, a renowned illustrator from Prague who later moved to Rugolo in Sàrmede. Since then, spurred on by ever-increasing success and the invaluable help of many artists, the Exhibition has shown over 300 works of art from countries all over the world to its numerous visitors each year, taking them on a fabulous journey through the fanciful imagination of each country.
Some facts and figures: the Exhibition’s value
• more than 300 illustrations by 38 artists from all over the world
• a section dedicated to a guest of honour: a carefully researched personal study to get to know the artist’s work in greater depth
• a themed section dedicated to the tales of various countries across the world
• the International School of Illustration
• teaching programmes for schools, workshops, animated readings, meeting the artists
• number of visitors: around 40,000 per year in Sàrmede and an average of 15,000 at each subsequent offshoot exhibition centre.
Our objectives: continual improvement, teaching and training
• The Exhibition, along with its official volume, is intended as a way to become acquainted with and continually improve on the work produced year after year in this field at International level; presenting the latest trends and the most original developments in contemporary illustration to an ever-growing public is one of its most important aims.
• By virtue of a wide range of teaching activities, the Exhibition has always emphasised and promoted the cultural importance and educational value of the illustrated book.
• The International School of Illustration lies at the heart of the Exhibition and brings out considerable creative energy: that of the artists who teach and pass on the most stimulating aspects of their own personal experiences to their pupils, and that of the pupils who bring to the School new ideas and an intense desire to learn to illustrate in an independent and original way.
One, two, three, lots of Touring Exhibitions
One of the project’s main aims is to convey the culture of beautiful illustration to a wider public, and for this reason the Exhibition is constantly on the move. Since 1991, it has travelled from Sàrmede to be presented in prestigious centres including: Madrid, Genoa, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Ljubljana, Lisbon, Seville, Salzburg, Vienna, Istanbul, Naples, Monza, Stuttgart, Siena, Rome, Florence, Bratislava, Verona and Vicenza.
All the Exhibitions
There are also various related exhibitions on tour (Anthological, Pinocchio and other fictional characters, The magical world of Štěpán Zavřel, The voices of the tom-toms, stories from Africa, Fabulous intricacies in silk, tales from the Far East) along with many others currently being developed.