Bologna, 31.08.2026
THE CITY AND WATER
The 30 selected artworks from the fourth edition of BOit! on display at Biblioteca Salaborsa in Bologna
From 14 September to 3 October 2026, the Sala Scuderie at Biblioteca Salaborsa will host The City and Water, the exhibition featuring the thirty artworks selected by the jury of the fourth edition of BOit! – International Illustration Contest.
Graphic material designed by Marta Viviani
Following their preview at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April 2026, the artworks return to Bologna to meet the public in the heart of the city.
The fourth edition of BOit! stems from a reflection on the deep connection between water and the urban fabric: what stories can waterways tell? How do they intertwine with the fate of cities? What role can they play in imagining the future of our communities?
Illustrators from around the world were invited to explore this relationship, taking inspiration from their own city, from Bologna, or from an imaginary city, through perspectives moving between reality and imagination.
The format chosen for the fourth edition also originates in Bologna: a square inspired by the Finestrella di via Piella, the small window overlooking the Canale delle Moline, which becomes a symbolic threshold through which to observe and rethink the relationship between city and water.
The thirty selected artworks offer thirty different interpretations of this connection: cities crossed by water, submerged or reinvented; landscapes in which water becomes a source of life, a space for connection, memory, energy and narrative.
The 30 selected artworks
Daniele Guerra — Portici acquatici — SOLO EXHIBITION AWARD
Sara Santimaria — Ode alla buona acqua — WATER AND THE CITY AWARD
Francisco Fabián Murillo Ruiz — Tláloc — FINE ARTS AWARD
Elham Ebrahimpoor — Water and the city — Special Mention
Icaro Tuttle — Laghetto urbano — Special Mention
Ekaterina Skvortsova-Kowalski — Trevi — Special Mention
Fátima Ordinola Guerra — Water is our path, we are always moving
Katsiaryna Martsinovich — Find five fish
Bogna Czurczak — Underground rivers
Nicole Tecchio — Città liquida
Nesrin Chaji — Life Flows with Water
Emily Bornoff — Boats and sunbathers
Dafna Barzilay — Sun Soak
Cecilia Balzani — La fontana
Bei Zhang — Urban Slice – vessels of my city
Esther González Martí — Paper boats
Sveta Ovinova — Vardavar
Kexin Liu — Evening at the KYOTO Kamo River, 7:30 PM
Zuzanna Kowalska — Water = life
Mitra Abdollahi — Infinite Blue
Yuesha Li — La Senna
Ruchi Shah — Water-woes
Emanuela Sangermano — Ecosistemi urbani lungo linee d’acqua
Azadeh Ziaee Lorzad — L’acqua porta le voci
Chiara Magnani — Vicini di casa
Huiyan Wang — A city canal
Ivania Daniela Maturana Ávila — Cartografie dell’acqua
Kate Leiper — Ebb and Flow
Giulia Buratti — La vita che scorre fra i portici
Louise Jenkins — I see you
BOit! – International Illustration Contest was founded in Bologna with the aim of promoting creative work, supporting professional growth and creating opportunities for exchange among artists from around the world.
With each edition, a format and a theme inspired by the city of Bologna become the starting point for a visual exploration of issues with universal relevance. The fourth edition, The City and Water, focuses on the relationship between urban spaces and an element that has always shaped their form, history and life.
The jury of the fourth edition consists of Elena Pasoli, Emilio Varrà, Lorenzo Sangiò, Silvia Dini Modigliani and Valentina Fasola for Hopi Edizioni, Irene Penazzi, Massimo Pastore, Alice Galletti and Carlotta Artioli.
Acknowledgements and collaborations
Thanks to our technical sponsors:
Finaestampa – for the fine art printing of the artworks
Astronave Lab – for the production of the custom-made handcrafted frames
With the patronage of:
Municipality of Bologna
Canali di Bologna
Information
THE CITY AND WATER
Exhibition of the fourth edition of BOit! – International Illustration Contest
14 September – 3 October 2026
Biblioteca Salaborsa – Sala Scuderie
Piazza del Nettuno 3, Bologna
Free admission
