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Korean artist Baek Heena wins 2020 Astrid Lindgren award

In Sweden, Korean artist Baek Heena has been announced as the winner of the five million krona (A$820k) Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA).

Baek has published 13 picture books, including Cloud Bread, which was published in English in 2011. Her picture books feature handmade miniature figurines and are created through a time-consuming process that includes construction, sculpture, photography and lighting design.

The ALMA jury’s citation says: ‘With exquisite feeling for materials, looks and gestures, Baek Heena’s filmic picture books stage stories about solitude and solidarity. In her evocative miniature worlds, cloud bread and sorbet moons, animals, bath fairies and people converge. Her work is a doorway to the marvellous: sensuous, dizzying and sharp.’

Administered by the Swedish Arts Council in honour of author Astrid Lindgren, the ALMA is the largest international children’s and young adult literature award in the world. The winner is usually announced during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair but was announced via webcast following the cancellation of the 2020 fair.

As previously reported by Books+Publishing, 12 Australians were nominated for the 2020 prize. To learn more about Baek Heena, visit the ALMA website.

 

Category: Awards International news