Follow Us on Google
By Henry Akubuiro
A year after it hit the ground running at Book Buzz Foundation’s head office at 34 Ajanaku Street, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos the second edition of the Lagos International Festival of Illustrations (LIFI), organised by the foundation, got underway on Thursday, September 17 and wrapped up on Saturday, 19th of September with 36 carefully selected Nigerian illustrators and nine accomplished international illustrators headlining the three-day festival.
The foreign illustrators, who came from Italy, Switzerland, and Poland were in keeping with the Book Buzz Foundation’s agenda to develop the capacities of budding Nigerian illustrators, who play a vital role in the children’s literature genre, using visuals to tell the story in an engaging manner. Using workshops, portfolio clinics and networking sessions, the festival deepens the understanding of Nigerian illustrators on the demands of storytelling in contemporary children’s books and the multiple approaches to be deployed in illustration capable of competing with the best in the world.
At the inaugural edition lady year. Lola Shoneyin, Director of Book Buzz Foundation, said seasoned illustrators were invited from Spain, Slovenia and Latin America, along with 45 young Nigerian artists to take part in the experiment.
That experiment has already birthed 20 books out of the 100 books targeted by the organisers, which were shown to the pressmen. No doubt, her initiative has grown from strength to strength, evidenced in the latest convergence – “a proof that, with a good idea, the right network and a lot of passion, much can be achieved,” she said in her address of welcome.
According to Shoneyin, “Wonderful things have happened between the first LFI and this one. Through the Nigerian Picture Book Project, we have been making books. Twenty new picture books, written and illustrated by Nigerians, will be presented to the public on 7 October in Abuja. Some of the illustrators in those books were with us at the first LIFI. Today, they are working illustrators, dazzling us with their ideas.”
Shoneyin recalled that she was motivated to establish the programme following a recent trip to Italy to attend a children’s book festival in Bologna. She was impressed by what she saw abroad, which made her believe Nigeria was lagging behind in children’s book production.. She was also surprised that there was limited African participation for such a global event in Bologna.
Shoneyin, thus, began the first phase of building a community of talented illustrators, creating opportunities for work through networking, and helping to “build a professional pipeline for children’s book illustrators in Nigeria,” hoping that, in five years, LFI would accomplish its first phase.
Among this year’s international illustrators included Milly Miljkovic, an illustrator, visual artist, and lecturer at CISA in Lugano. Her research investigates perception across form, space and colour, bridging digital technologies with a deliberate return to manual practices and mixed media experimentation. Sophie Hofmann, a Swiss illustrator, focuses on children’s picture books, illustration commissions and observing everyday’s moments and emotions for her illustrations.
Sonya Trolliet, also from Switzerland, works on ideas revolving around awkwardness, a sense of otherness, and power dynamics. Zosia Frankowska, an illustrator of graphic books, is interested in birds, while Zosia Dzierżawska, an illustrator and comics author, has a passion for storytelling, history and architecture.
On her part, Joanna Rusinek, a native of Poland with more than 100 illustrated books, brought a load of experience. In Lagos, Giulia Orecchia led workshops for children, adults and individuals experiencing mental health challenges. The Argentine-Italian, Cynthia Anthonio, in her books, often explores emotional depth with warmth and sensitivity, creating stories that resonate with readers of all ages.
Also in the country for the 2026 LIFI, was Elenia Beretta, an Italian, the co-founder of Picturebooks Berlin, who organises Drawing Nights Berlin, a monthly drawing event. For three days, the facilitators broadened the views of Nigerian illustrators, to their delight. “You are not here merely to become good enough for the Nigerian market,” said Shoneyin to the Nigerian participants. “You are here to become impossible for the global market to ignore.”
Through the support of the Lagos State government, EUNIC Spaces of Culture, the EUNIC Cluster in Nigeria, Sterling Bank, the Italian Embassy, Pro Helvetia, the Embassy of Poland, the University of Lagos and Yaba College of Technology, this year’s LIFI made sure that the promise of improving participants’ craft, their learning discipline, and developing their ambition was met to a large extent.
The Book Buzz Foundation director said each of the 20 new books produced so far was enriched with local cultural flavours, which young readers could easily relate with. “We have produced 20 books, but we are advancing towards 100 books,” she said, hoping that, by next year, all the books would be ready.
What’s more, Book Buzz is waiting patiently for the approval of the Nigerian Educational Research Development Commission, a body assigned to approve books for schools in Nigeria for theirs to be approved for classes. LIFI is leaving no stone unturned to achieving its objective of improving the quality of children’s books in Nigeria.
