Arianna Papini

She was born and lives in Florence, where she studied art at the Liceo Artistico and Architecture at the University of Florence, where she graduated with a thesis on the design of the picture book. Since 1988, after some experiences in technical and editorial studios, she worked for 25 years as editorial and artistic director at the Fatatrac publishing house, where she was responsible for choosing texts and images, as well as for the graphic design of book covers and series. She has collaborated with the Industrial Design course at the Faculty of Architecture in Florence and taught Theory of Formal Languages, organizing an annual exhibition of picture books designed by her students. A board member of the Italian Aalto/Viipuri Committee, she organized an exhibition and seminars on Alvar Aalto at the Marino Marini Museum and the Seeber Bookstore in Florence. She is among the organizers of the exhibition I Miracoli e il Volto Santo di Gesù, a large collective work in the form of a polyptych, which was displayed at the Fenice Theatre in Venice in September 2011 and is now a permanent exhibit at the Santuario della Visione in Camposampiero.
An art therapist, she completed a four-year post-graduate specialization at the International Art Therapy School in Bologna, focusing on mother-child settings and trauma. At her studio in Florence, she conducts therapeutic, self-narrative, and artistic groups for people of all ages. She teaches courses at schools, Masters, organizations, cooperatives, and libraries across Italy. Since 2007, she has been teaching Illustration at ISIA in Urbino. She works as a freelance writer, painter, illustrator, trainer, teacher, and art therapist.
She has written and illustrated 150 books for La Nuova Italia, Edicolors, Fatatrac, Lapis Edizioni, Città Aperta, Carocci Editore, Ananke, Avvenire, Coccole Books, Liberty, Kalandraka, Donzelli Editore, Carthusia Edizioni, Rrose Selavy, Coccole Books, Uovonero, Kalimat, Bacchilega Junior, Pacini Editore, Edizioni Gruppo Abele, and Camelozampa, with which she has won numerous awards, including the Andersen Award, the Rodari Award, and the City of Procida Award. Some of her books have been co-published in France, Spain, England, Greece, China, Portugal, and Taiwan.
Every year, she participates in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy and abroad. A volunteer at the pediatric oncology department for the Helios Association, some of her published and unpublished works have been staged in pediatric hospital wards. In her courses, Arianna enjoys working with a diverse group of people from various backgrounds, as she believes that the large group represents a wealth of learning and cultural exchange.