Nothing Is Impossible for Us – 20 Picturebook Makers at Work

Emma AdBåge (Sweden), Lisen Adbåge (Sweden), Beatrice Alemagna (Italy), Bernardo P. Carvalho (Portugal), Kitty Crowther (Belgium), Clara Dackenberg (Sweden), Per Gustavsson (Sweden), Baek Heena (South Korea), Anna Höglund (Sweden), Isol (Argentina), Jon Klassen (Canada), Olof Landström (Sweden), Pija Lindenbaum (Sweden), Eva Lindström (Sweden), Azul López (Mexico), Sara Lundberg (Sweden), Jockum Nordström (Sweden), Shaun Tan (Australia), Øyvind Torseter (Norway), JooHee Yoon (USA)

Nothing Is Impossible for Us is the result of a collaboration between Lunds konsthall and Litteralund. The exhibition brings together twenty renowned contemporary picturebook makers from all over the world to Lunds konsthall to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Litteralund – Sweden’s biggest children and youth Literature festival. The twenty artists were selected from a list of more than one hundred who have participated in the festival over those twenty years.

Interview with the curators Debora Voges and Kristina Wåhlin

Picturebooks can house entire worlds, often in a compressed format. Like all artworks, they can serve as both mirrors and windows and leave deep impressions on both children and adults. These books can produce lingering experiences and memories, which extend far beyond the pages. It is commonly assumed that the recipient of a picturebook is a child. Nowadays, however, when we’re seeing so many experimental and exploratory picturebooks aimed at all ages being published, this assumption is becoming increasingly unsustainable. This is a creative field that inhabits the space between art and literature. These books don’t patronise their readers, whether they be children or adults; they leave everyone free to read and understand them as they wish – just like any other art form.

Nothing Is Impossible for Us focuses on the creative process itself, the various sources of inspiration for each artist, and the thinking that goes into creating a picturebook. For these artists, the book itself is the finished product, but the creative work that is done before and alongside the creation of the actual picturebook often remains hidden – behind the book, in a way. In this exhibition the visitors will be able to take a behind-the-scenes look at the process of picturebook making and the various aspects of the artists’ creative practices.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue, and a comprehensive education programme that will be available to our audiences. During the week of Litteralund Festival – 5 to 11 April – there will be a free programme of activities for schools, families, and the general public but also for professional illustrators.

For more information about Litteralund Festival visit: www.litteralund.se

Image: Sara Lundberg, from the book Nobody But Me. Natur & Kultur, Stockholm, 2024

Curators: Debora Voges, Kristina Wåhlin

With support from Region Skåne and Kulturrådet, and in collaboration with IASPIS, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts.