Next open Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

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Dates

September 13, 2023-February 18, 2024

Location

Zimmerli Art Museum

71 Hamilton Street New Brunswick, NJ, 08901

Information

Admission at the Zimmerli is FREE to everyone. Tickets are not required for exhibitions

Our Place in the World: Children’s Illustrations by Juana Martinez-Neal

Award-winning children’s illustrator and author Juana Martinez-Neal creates books where children connect with their heritage and learn to be proud of their uniqueness, discovering their own place in the world. A multigenerational family bonds over traditions and recipes in Tomatoes for Neela (written by Padma Lakshmi, Viking Books for Young Readers, 2021). An Asháninka child shares the wonders, and peril, of her homeland in Zonia’s Rainforest / La selva de Zonia (Candlewick Press, 2021). A little girl learns about the family history behind her name in Alma and How She Got Her Name / Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre (Candlewick Press, 2018). And the beloved character Alma returns in Martinez-Neal’s two newest publications, the bilingual board books, Alma, Head to Toe / Alma, de pies a cabeza (Candlewick Press, 2023) and Alma and Her Family / Alma y su familia (Candlewick Press, 2023). This exhibition features illustrations and preparatory works for these stories, showcasing Martinez-Neal’s extraordinary artistry and celebrating her remarkable ability to create immersive and engaging books for young audiences.

Our Place in the World features bilingual English/Spanish exhibition text.

Organized by Nicole Simpson, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings

This project is supported by PNC Grow Up Great. 


Nuestro lugar en el mundo: ilustraciones infantiles de Juana Martinez-Neal
Del 21 de septiembre de 2023 al 19 de febrero de 2024

Los libros de Juana Martinez-Neal, una galardonada autora e ilustradora de literatura infantil, tratan acerca de niños y niñas que conectan con su herencia y aprenden a enorgullecerse de su singularidad, para así descubrir su lugar propio en el mundo. Esta exposición incluye ilustraciones originales y bocetos increíbles de varios de sus libros más apreciados. En Alma and How She Got Her Name / Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre (Candlewick Press, 2018), una pequeña niña conoce la historia familiar detrás de su nombre. Una niña asháninca comparte las maravillas —y los peligros— de su tierra natal en Zonia’s Rainforest / La selva de Zonia (Candlewick Press, 2021). Una familia multigeneracional se mantiene unida gracias a sus tradiciones y recetas en Tomatoes for Neela / Tomates para Neela (escrito por Padma Lakshmi, Viking Books for Young Readers, 2021). La exposición también incluye ilustraciones de dos de las publicaciones más recientes de Martinez-Neal: los libros bilingües de cartón Alma, Head to Toe / Alma, de pies a cabeza (Candlewick Press, 2023) y Alma and Her Family / Alma y su familia (Candlewick Press, 2023).

Organizada por Nicole Simpson, curadora adjunta de Grabados y Dibujos

Este proyecto cuenta con el generoso aporte de PNC Grow Up Great.

 

Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick Press), her debut picture book as author-illustrator. She is also a New York Times bestselling illustrator recipient of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Story (Roaring Brook) and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for La Princesa and the Pea (Putnam).

Juana was named to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor list in 2014, and was awarded the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize in 2012. She was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, and now lives in Connecticut, with her husband and three children.

Exhibition Preview

Award-winning children’s illustrator and author Juana Martinez-Neal creates books where children connect with their heritage and learn to be proud of their uniqueness, discovering their own place in the world. This exhibition features illustrations and preparatory works for two of her stories, showcasing Martinez-Neal’s extraordinary artistry and celebrating her remarkable ability to create immersive and engaging books for young audiences.

ZONIA'S RAIN FOREST. Copyright © 2021 by Juana Martinez-Neal. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

ZONIA'S RAIN FOREST. Copyright © 2021 by Juana Martinez-Neal. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.

ALMA AND HOW SHE GOT HER NAME. Copyright © 2018 by Juana Martinez-Neal. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Candlewick Press, Somerville, MA.