The group ASIL, in its public statements, has claimed that Peter Uchnár received a BIB 2025 Plaque for the same illustrations for Gulliver’s Travels that had already been awarded in 1999, thereby allegedly violating the competition rules. These claims are untrue and deliberately misleading.
The book Gulliver’s Travels (Slovart, 2023) is not a re-edition of the 1998 publication, but a new, complete edition of Jonathan Swift’s four books, containing 119 illustrations, 100 of which are entirely new. The remaining illustrations were reinterpreted within a new visual concept. The BIB 2025 competition evaluated only new, original works that had never before been exhibited or awarded.
The decision of the international BIB 2025 jury was therefore independent, professional, and transparent.
We firmly reject any attempts to distort facts or damage the reputation of Slovak artists and cultural institutions that have long represented our culture both at home and abroad. We believe that professional and artistic matters should be addressed objectively, respectfully, and without politicisation or personal attacks.
The Slovak National Gallery expresses its full support for illustrator Peter Uchnár and for the renowned international exhibition Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, in their defence of the values of creativity, originality, and artistic freedom in the field of children’s and young people’s illustration.
Art for children should remain a space of imagination, creativity, and understanding – not a place of political conflict.
