A key feature of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), the Book Illustrators Gallery (BIG) showcases diverse artwork from picture books, comics, and graphic novels by illustrators and artists from Southeast Asia, Asia, and the Asian diaspora. It offers a platform for the authors, publishers and the public to take notice of your illustrations.

Featuring close to 200 illustrations by 87 illustrators from 13 Asian countries, BIG invites visitors to explore new cultures and the best of picture book illustrations from around Asia in its first-ever online galleries.

BIG has been a popular feature at the annual AFCC, where the exhibition is usually held at the National Library. Presented in a digital format for the first time, the online exhibition will be larger and more extensive than its previous editions – showcasing both open call submissions and curated illustrations from past AFCC Countries of Focus such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines as well as Singapore.

Watch the promo video for BIG here:


Open Submissions Gallery
Country of Focus Gallery BIG Illustrators Directory
BIG Illustrators Directory BIG Curators
BIG Curators

BIG Country of Focus Roundtable: What Makes a Good Illustration?

Complementing the launch of BIG is the BIG Curators Roundtable, an online panel discussion featuring the guest curators from AFCC’s past Countries of Focus. The speakers include Carolina Ballester from the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair; Fumiko Uejima and Michiko Matsukata from the Chihiro Art Museum’s curation team, as well as Singapore illustrator collective, Illo Picto, among others. 

The discussion was streamed live on the AFCC Facebook Page and focused on highlights from the exhibition; illustration trends in Asia; and what constitutes a good book illustration. Watch the Roundtable session below, or on YouTube.

View previous BIG galleries here:

2019 Gallery 2018 Gallery 2017 Gallery 2016 Gallery 2015 Gallery 2014 Gallery