250 pop-up books displayed at SCRF’s 3D book exhibition

SHARJAH - For the first time in the Sharjah Children Reading Festival, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) will make the imaginations of books enthusiasts ‘pop’ with joy with a 3D Book Exhibition that will be organised as part of the festival’s 10th edition, starting next Wednesday (April 18) at Sharjah’s Expo Centre.

This first-time attraction will be offered to visitors and literature enthusiasts of all age groups by expert Italian curators Massimo Missiroli and Mathieu Faglia, from the 3D Book Centre in Forli, Italy. The exhibition comes in line with the festival’s theme ‘Your Future… Just a Book Away’, and aims to introduce the UAE’s readers to the ancient art of pop-up or three dimensional books, whose earliest examples are said to be found in 13th Century Catalonia, posing them against the new and emerging technologies in this genre of image-heavy, performance based literature.

Visitors to the 3D Book Exhibition will have access 250 of these books that have been handpicked by the exhibition curators to represent eight different periods of time. These books will include At The Beginning (1880), From The Third Dimension To The Pop-Up (1920), The Birth of the Name “Pop-Up” (1930), The Carousel Books (1940), Global Production (1950), The Art Of Voitec Kubasta (1960), The Wally Pop-Up Era (1970), and finally, A New Amazing Millennium (2000).

Hosting the pop-up book exhibition reflects SBA’s keenness to introduce innovative activities that would contribute to enriching children’s imagination, and establish SCRF as the hub for these dynamic and intellectually rewarding activities.

Younger visitors will learn about the latest in 3D modeling and design from a great selection pop-up books, whose lifelike characteristics contributed by both their text and graphics bring them closest to children’s imaginations and make their reading experiences as interactive as possible.

The organising of the pop-up book exhibition aligns with SCRF’s vision to ignite the creative passions of children and young adults, and encourage them to appreciate reading, which truly forms the basis of progressive societies, in a more unconventional and fun manner.

Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival is one of the most important cultural events for children and young people in the UAE and greater region. SCRF is not a mere book fair but an inclusive extravaganza that contributes to enriching the knowledge of visitors with science and literature, with the participation of a stellar galaxy of children’s organisations and centres.

The upcoming edition will take place for 11 days, until Saturday, April 28.