TEHRAN – Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) is organizing an exhibition displaying the illustrations by Iranian nominees from various editions of the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

A collection containing 34 works by Farshid Mesqali, Nasrin Khosravi, Pejman Rahimizadeh, Frashid Shafiei, and Mohammad-Ali Bani-Asadi are view in the exhibit at IIDCYA National Museum of Children’s Art and Literature.

Mesqali is the sole Iranian winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award. He received the honor in 1974.

Earlier in 2016, his illustrations chosen from the books “The Little Black Fish”, “The City of the Snakes”, “Arash, the Archer”, “I, the Hedgehog and My Doll” and several other books were showcased in an exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to an author and an illustrator of children’s books in Basel, Switzerland. The Author’s Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator’s Award since 1966.

Author Jamshid Khanian and illustrator Pejman Rahimizadeh, both from Iran, have received nominations for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award.

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to literature for young people.

Photo: An illustration by Iranian artist Farshid Mesqali from writer Samad Behrangi’s book “The Little Black Fish” is on display in an exhibition at IIDCYA National Museum of Children’s Art and Literature.

MMS/YAW