About me
Short Bio | Francesca is an Edinburgh-based Maltese illustrator and picture book maker. She is fascinated with heightening everyday lie and the mundane, through whimsical and emotional characters and stories. The themes surrounding inclusivity, mental health and wellbeing have become an important part of her practice. She often combines her illustrative work with material such as textiles and paper-cutting as an additional layer for her storytelling. Francesca has so far illustrated 4 children’s books including a Maltese adaptation of ‘The House that Sneezed’ (2020) and the award-winning, Maltese children’s fiction series of ‘Irvin Vella, Virtual Investigator’ (2021, 2022). She had her debut exhibition ‘Drip Drop’ (2018). |
Looking for | Artistic opportunities, collaboration and networking |
Other Roles | Artist, Digital Artist |
Skills | Concept Creation Drawing Figurative Ink Mixed Media |
Education
Education History | Masters in Illustration, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, 2021-2022 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) Degree, University of Malta, 2014-2017 |
Experience
Exhibitions | 2021 – The 20s Take Two – Online Art Exhibition by ARTZ ID and Christine X Gallery 2020 – ARTNA – Online Poster Exhibition by Malta Community of Illustrators 2019 – The Levi’s Trucker Jacket Design Contest Exhibition -Levi’s, Valletta, Malta 2018 – Qatra Qatra -Cafe Society, Valletta, Malta 2017 – Distorja -MARIE Gallery 5, Mosta, Malta (as part of the BFA in Digital Arts Course at the University of Malta) |
Achievements | Awards 2017 – 1st Place at the Literary Art Contest for the National Book Festival in Malta
Press Jul 2021 – Meet illustrator and digital artist Francesca Grech : Feature on ArtzID Mar 2021 – 10 Upcoming Female Artists to look out for on the Network : Feature on ArtzID Mar 2021 – Artwork featured in Goldfoil Magazine Feb 2021 – Artwork featured in OVERDUE Magazine Nov 2020 – ‘Il-Familja Frattarija’ featured in the Malta Community of Illustrators – Illustrators Annual 2020 May 2020 – ‘The Balcony in C-Major’ featured on the Bologna Children’s Online Special Edition Book Fair 2020, Online Illustrators Wall August 2019 – ‘These 8 Up-And-Coming Visual Artists are Taking Malta by Storm’ : Feature on Lovin Malta Nov 2018 – ‘Are You What You Drink?’ : Feature on Times of Malta by Jessica Arena
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Work | 2021 – Irvin Vella – Il-Każ tat-Tfajla Maħtufa: Illustrations for a children’s book. 2020 – Il-Kaxxa tal-Memorji: Illustrations for a children’s book. 2020 – Il-Familja Frattarija: Illustrations for a children’s book. Published by Merlin Publishers 2019 – NINU: Poster design and marketing for a theatre production at Spazju Kreattiv 2017 – K-T-B: Illustrations for a children’s schoolbook. Published by Merlin Publishers |