Alejandro Magallanes

He studied at the National School of Visual Arts of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

He dedicates himself to playing and working with letters and images—sometimes on commission, and other times simply for the pleasure of it. To date, he has written ten children’s books, three poetry books, and several artist’s books, including his first novel.

He works in the cultural and social fields, and has drawn, painted, assembled, and designed numerous other books, posters, animations, collages, photographs, letters, and images.

Three monographs on his work as a designer and poster artist have been published in China, Spain, and Germany. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI).

He has received various national and international awards, as well as held exhibitions around the world, though he prefers not to list them in this biography.

He does not believe that an image is worth more than a thousand words, since a thousand words combined can create approximately six million images (just to name a number). He believes that if an image becomes unforgettable in your memory, you will never be able to define in words the emotion it evokes.

Concha Pasamar

Concha M. Pasamar studied History and Philology. Over the past decade, she has trained in illustration through various courses and workshops with professional artists and has developed a career as an illustrator and writer, especially in the field of children’s and young adult literature, with around twenty titles published by different publishers, including Bookolia, Kalandraka, A Fin de Cuentos, Akiara Books, Litera, and Cuento de Luz. Several of her works have received awards and recognitions. In addition, she has carried out other illustration projects, including book covers, CD artwork, posters, and more. She also teaches courses and workshops on illustration and visual storytelling, exploring both practical and theoretical approaches.

Hui-Yin Hsueh

Hui Yin enjoys exploring themes related to people, nature, culture, and gastronomy in her work. She has collaborated with highly acclaimed authors and illustrated picture books such as The Giant’s Tears, Phonetic Practice, Night Dream, Mr. Alzheimer, and The Hole-Poking Monster. Several of her works have been ed by the Books from Taiwan program of the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan. Hui Yin was also ed to participate as an illustrator in the Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021.

Maru Aguzzi

She studied Graphic Design in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and specialized in publishing, a job that she has been doing for almost 30 years now. Has lived in Mexico since 2003 and works as a Cultural Promoter. Is the Founder and Director of Gran Salon Mexico, a contemporary illustration fair that takes place annually in Mexico City since 2014 and, in parallel throughout the year, she runs Gran Salon Agency, where she focuses on working with illustrators in different types of projects.

Other activities involving the participant:

From illustration to space

Lucie Lucanská

Lucie Lučanská (b. 1990) is an illustrator based in Prague. In addition to her work in illustrated books and comics, she explores her artistic practice through drawing, watercolor, airbrush, mural painting, self-publishing, and risograph printing, even extending her work to tattoo art. She is a creator who develops her projects independently and often changes mediums and tools. She enjoys making books about nature, kindness, and magic.

Ana Santos

An artist with a background in painting, fashion design, and education. She spent ten years working in the fashion industry, seven of them running her own brand, TrakaBarraka (TrBa). In 2019, she moved to the United States and reconnected with illustration.

She currently works in digital illustration and mural projects. Her work portrays the world through a naïve and colorful lens, diving into social themes while keeping a light and humorous tone. Her inspirations include pop culture, cartoons, and comic art.

Dr. Alderete

Graphic artist, illustrator, author, designer, cultural manager, musician, and occasional photographer. He plays the theremin and performs live drawing with the Mexican band Sonido Gallo Negro. His work has been featured in several specialized anthologies such as Illustration Now! and Latin American Graphic Design (TASCHEN), where it is noted that “Jorge Alderete is one of the most emblematic artists in Latin America.”

Paulina Magos

She is an illustrator who works primarily with drawing. Much of her work is rooted in personal experience. For several years, she has been dedicated to promoting design and illustration. She was the co-founder and director of Dear Deer (Querido Venado), one of the first spaces in Mexico focused on independent design and illustration, where workshops, small concerts, and an exhibition program were organized from 2008 to 2011.

Since 2013, she has led the Design and Communications Department at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), and since 2018 she has directed Biombo: Independent Publications and Illustration Fair, which features a program of activities centered around independent publishing and illustration.

Her recent work includes projects related to art, independent publications, identity, and design for contemporary art, musicians, and self-managed initiatives.

Garikoitz Fraga

Garikoitz Fraga (Bilbao, 1971) has been the director of Belleza Infinita publishing house since 2002, where he edits and distributes publications that defy categorization, spanning art, experimental comics, photobooks, visual essays, and graphic poetry. He also organizes cultural activities and curates exhibitions.

Estibaliz Zearsolo

EsT holds a BA (Hons) in Arts & Events Management from Arts University Bournemouth. For the past 15 years, she has worked with Euskal Irudigileak, the Professional Association of Illustrators of the Basque Country. During this time, she has collaborated in organizing a wide range of activities, including workshops, talks, exhibitions, collaborations, and fairs, promoting local talent and giving visibility to illustrators. Nine years ago, together with a team of colleagues, she co-founded Irudika, the International Professional Illustration Meeting in the Basque Country. Today, she continues to explore new ways to support professionals, advocating for their rights and recognition as authors, promoting illustration in the Basque Country, and fostering a collaborative and enriching environment for all association members.

Alexia Halteman

Editor and co-founder of Impronta Casa Editora, bookseller, and translator. She studied Hispanic Literature at the University of Guadalajara and completed a Diploma in General Translation at the Mexican Organization of Translators. She participated in editing the Colección del Semáforo for Taller Ditoria (2009–2014) and was a founding member and editor of the literary and graphic magazine La Cigarra (2013–2016). She has translated several books of poetry, short stories, and essays, notably Walden by Henry David Thoreau, published by Nulú Bonsái (Argentina), Libros Tadeys (Chile), and Impronta (Mexico).

She is co-founder, along with Helena Aldana, José Clemente Orozco Farías, and Carlos Armenta, of Impronta Casa Editora (2014–present). She currently serves as co-director and editor of Impronta and coordinates its bookstore.

Other activities involving the participant:

Building a Catalog at the End of the World: Diverse Genres

Helena Malvido

(Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1994) is a graphic designer and illustrator who develops visual identity and creative direction projects. Her varied experience in fields such as communication, and cultural and artistic projects, has always been closely linked to imagery and graphic expression. Music, books, self-publishing, and visual culture nourish her work on a deeply personal level. She is currently one half of Estudio NubeNube.

Alfonso Castañeda García

Alfonso Castañeda García began his studies in Arts for Plastic Expression at the University of Guadalajara, but it was in the workshop where he discovered his true path as a printmaker. He joined Ediciones Ajolote, where, under the guidance of Teresa Valdéz, he trained in the craft of graphic production, specializing in artistic screen printing. Since 2015, he has directed Estudio Taller Amapola, his own graphic production studio, focused exclusively on screen printing as a medium for creation and collaboration. His work has involved producing graphic art for artists working in diverse languages, from illustration and traditional printmaking to conceptual projects. He has participated in numerous collective painting exhibitions, including his ion for the Bienal Atanasio Monroy in 2016. Nevertheless, his practice primarily centers on technical production and training within the field of graphic arts.

He currently teaches at the Escuela de Artes Jalisco, leading the Stamping and Experimental Printmaking workshop, where he shares with his students a practical and hands-on vision of graphic work, emphasizing screen printing as both an expressive and technical tool.

Peach

Peach es un artista multidisciplinar que dedica sus días a explorar las formas en que construimos nuestra relación con nuestros ecosistemas e identidades a través de los rituales y simbolismos de la vida cotidiana. Su investigación se articula desde la teoría queer, los estudios críticos de discapacidad y prácticas espirituales en torno al cuidado, el bienestar, la vulnerabilidad y la colaboración.

Ha sido parte de exposiciones en instituciones como el Museo Anahuacalli (2023), Oklahoma Contemporary (2022), el Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil (2021) y el Museo de Arte de Zapopan (2021). Es fundadore de Volcán Press, un estudio de risografía dedicado a prácticas pedagógicas y la exploración creativa en Guadalajara.

Yumali Torres

Born in Xalapa in 1997, she is a visual artist. She studied Visual Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Universidad Veracruzana. Her training has focused on printmaking, particularly lithography, eco-printing, and dyeing with natural pigments, which have become her main forms of artistic expression.

She has collaborated with the Printmaking Workshop of the Universidad Veracruzana, the Experimental Printmaking Workshop of Coatepec, and the Printmaking Studio at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, U.S.A. She is currently the head of the Lithography Workshop at La Ceiba Gráfica.

Alejandro Coronado

An enthusiast of ink and a believer in printmaking. I’m interested in printing processes and in the variations that emerge within them.

Having grown up in the city of Querétaro, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with various printmaking studios, working in relief printing, textile printing, intaglio, and screen printing. Through these experiences, I’ve been able to observe very different ways of creating images from spontaneous experimentation to the meticulous execution of long editions without any apparent change.

Elisabeth Pérez Fernández

Eli was born in Barakaldo in 1988 and lives in Orozko, at the foot of the Gorbea Natural Park. She is an illustrator and editor of Bonito Editorial, a publishing house she founded in 2013. There, she has published works by other artists such as Pablo Amargo, Kveta Pacovska, Roger Olmos, Mariana A Miseravel, among others, as well as books authored by herself. She has also illustrated for other publishers, including Media Vaca, Erein, Igela, and Veleta Roja. In addition to books, she works on cultural management and educational projects in museums, while keeping alive her workshop El Lirón Gris and her small gallery-bookshop Segunda. She manages the international area of Euskal Irudigileak and has been directing Irudika for nine years. Eli enjoys drawing and painting natural and industrial landscapes in shades of blue.

Other activities involving the participant:

Collective strength: Illustrators associations and networks