Bergamo hosts first festival dedicated to watercolor illustration

The first festival dedicated to watercolor illustration is coming to Bergamo on September 25 and 26, 2021. It is Stories in Watercolor and will feature 20 artists, who will give life to 5 watercolor and illustration exhibitions, 15 workshops, 6 demonstrations, and 5 lectures. The event, conceived, curated and designed by Bergamo-based illustrator Laura Cortinovis, freelancer and author of children’s books, is organized in collaboration with SpazioCam (a cultural association in Bergamo dedicated to art and courses of various kinds) and Momarte, the online store dedicated to the world of art, and is dedicated to all those who wish to immerse themselves in the art of watercolor applied to illustration: enthusiasts, amateurs and experts, adults and children, connoisseurs or users, artists or the merely curious.

“Watercolor,” says Cortinovis, “is a storytelling tool in the hands of the artist: stories can be told through plays of water and color. Images capture worlds that are fantasy and real, abstract and concrete. The lightness of gesture, nuances and transparencies are transformed into emotion for the viewer. The illustrations become doors to wonderful worlds. Stories in Watercolor is the festival that will transport the city of Bergamo into the dreamlike atmosphere of this painting technique, in a prestigious historical and cultural context. Prominent artists in the field will color the city’s most beautiful places with their style.” Storie ad Acquerello represents a double first: a first edition of a festival that is the first in Italy dedicated to watercolor expressing itself in illustration. “It all stems from an idea first and a desire later to bring anyone closer to the world of watercolor and illustration for children, and not only,” Cortinovis adds. “This is why it is a project with a deep symbolic and narrative value: we are ready to bring to a pop dimension all the culture that revolves around this world, to offer new suggestions and points of view on a discipline that is part of our visual imagination and our roots. And also ready to create a bridge of connection between all the partners who have enthusiastically joined the initiative, aware that a first edition in a year like this can be a great organizational challenge,” says Laura Cortinovis."

The Storie ad Acquerello program sees among the confirmed guests some of the most prominent names in the world of illustration and watercolor. Artists and professionals ready to make their skills and work available to the public through a busy program of meetings, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations. Among the many who have joined the 2021 edition are also illustrators Giovanni Manna and Alessandro Sanna and author Giusi Quarenghi, winners in past years of the Andersen Prize, the most prestigious Italian award given to the best children’s books of the publishing year, their authors, illustrators and publishers. And then Cecilia Cavallini, Marina Cremonini, Lucia De Marco, Morena Forza, Gianluca Garofalo, Margherita Leoni, Laura Manaresi, Lorenzo Naia, Alessandra Nardotto, Anna Paolini, Lorenza Ravasio, Roberta Rossetti, Valentina Scagnolari, Daniel Torrent, Daniela Volpari, Lucio Schiavon, as well as Laura Cortinovis, of course.

Accompanying the exhibitions and events will be an exhibition space dedicated to all the artist’s working tools, made possible by the presence of important companies in the field, and a bookstore space, curated by Libreria Fantasia of Bergamo, where it will be possible to find books by the artists present at the festival. In order to host the rich program of Storie ad Acquerello, Bergamo’s exhibition spaces such as the Accademia Carrara, the Ex Carcere di Sant’Agata, the Circolino Città Alta, the Bergamo Botanical Garden, the Teatro Sant’Andrea and the Seminarino have been involved, in addition to the SpazioCam venue, the starting point of the Festival, an informative space known in the city to photography enthusiasts and the site of one of the planned exhibitions. There is an interactive map on the Storie ad Acquerello website that can be consulted to learn about all the points of interest of the event.

Image: Cecilia Cavallini, The fanfare of fairy tales, detail

Association Spazio Cam collaborates with Laura Cortinovis in the realization of the event, born from the union of different and consolidated experiences in the cultural and educational field. A place of sharing, aggregation and dissemination, thanks also to its teachers, esteemed professionals of great experience. Located near the Accademia Carrara, SpazioCam is surrounded by galleries and places of artistic interest, making it a remarkable center for the festival. Official partner Momarte, one of the best-known fine arts e-store in Italy, with a young and competent team, very active on social media, which has been able to innovate the world of online commerce of products in the field.

Bergamo hosts first festival dedicated to watercolor illustration

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