2025 Illustration Ambassador: Joanna Karpowicz

Greetings from Bologna Global Rights Exchange! Today we will be thinking about a new and exciting initiative brought by BolognaBookPlus to this year’s upcoming Book Fair in Bologna: the Illustration Ambassador. 

Following the success of the Author Ambassador programme, the Illustration Ambassador seeks to give further recognition to the art of illustrators working in publishing. For the 2025 edition, this role has been given to Polish artist Joanna Karpowicz, now especially known for the comics incorporating her Anubis Series. I am particularly fond of this series, of which I appreciate the calm and clear conception. As a viewer, we are taken from place to place by the Egyptian god of the underworld, Anubis. The result is a combination of crippling irony and sweet resignation. Two of my favourite illustrations are The Smell of Oranges and Anubis with Anemone Flowers (included here). There is something about them that reminds me of a typical Italian summer town, comforting yet nostalgic. If you wish to have a better look at Karpowicz’s work, I suggest visiting her personal website: Art by Joanna Karpowicz. 

  

In partnership with the Polish Book Institute, BolognaBookPlus has devised a programme for our Illustrator throughout the three days of the fair. She will be attending multiple panels and juries.

For instance, 'In Conversation' on Tuesday 1st of April and the Indie Authors Book Jacket Award, showcasing excellence in self-published book cover designs, after which illustrators will have the opportunity to meet her.

Please find this year’s complete programme on our official website (Programma eventi 2025) and instagram page (@bolognabookplus). 

See you in Bologna!

- Lara Abrahams