Juan Palomino

We are proud to present Juan Palomino, Kolibrí Festivaali’s invited artist for 2022!

Juan Palomino is a prominent illustrator from Mexico and has been illustrating books for children and youth since 2008, working with publishing houses in Mexico and Spain. According to him, the key to his success is his commitment to continuous learning, with the aim of inspiring fascination and curiosity in his readers. His interest in illustration happened by chance, but allowed him to discover the amazing potential of illustration in enriching the experience of readers.

During Kolibrí Festivaali, you will be able to get to know Juan’s amazing talent through an exhibition of his work, workshops and a seminar. He will host workshops for children to explore diverse visual language approaches and he will conduct a seminar for professional artists, students and educators.

Palomino’s illustrated books have been showcased by, among others, Fundación Cuatro Gatos (USA), The White Ravens Selection from the Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich (Germany), The Honor List from IBBY (Switzerland), Best Books from the New York Public Library (USA) and the Junior Library Guild Selection (USA).

Juan has also received several prestigious awards, such as the Bologna Children’s Book Fair International Prize for Illustration in 2016, the Antonio García Cubas Award (INAH – Mexico) in 2019, the Golden Apple from the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava in 2021 and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Ragazzi Award for “Cajita de Fósforos”, with Adolfo Cordova, also in 2021. Juan’s illustrations have also been featured in several exhibitions in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Palomino studied philosophy and illustration at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and was also one of the coordinators of a diploma program in illustration also at UNAM.

Ana Paula Ojeda will accompany Palomino to Kolibrí. Ana Paula co-authored, with Juan, three books on Mesoamerican animal myths.

Juan Palomino’s participation in Kolibrí would not be possible without the cooperation of TAIKE, the Embassy of Mexico in Finland, Lastenkulttuurikeskus Pessi (Vantaa) and the Ibero-American Institute of Finland. Thanks also to Kuvittajat ry and FIBUL ry.

If you want to learn more about Juan’s work, follow him on IG: @juanpalomino.ilustrador