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Priit Rea

Biography

Priit Rea graduated in design from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 1980. He is a member of the Estonian Artist’s Association and the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association. Rea is also the art director of the children’s magazine Täheke.

At some point I wanted to become a sailor and travel to far-away lands but my mother enrolled me in an art orientated school and from there I ended up studying at the Estonian Academy of Arts. After graduating I worked at a design office for a few years, developing wooden products. Then I ended up working for a publishing house that also published children’s books. Since I loved to draw, my career as a book illustrator began.

Profile photo: Piia Ruber

Estonian Christmas Fairy Tales. cover, TEA, 2007, mixed mediaEstonian Christmas Fairy Tales. Elar Kuus. Magic axe, TEA, 2007, mixed mediaOtt Arder. Jellyfish, TEA, 2008, segatehnikaOtt Arder. Jellyfish, TEA, 2008, mixed mediaOlivia Saar. Rawr the Lion's and Jack the Rabbit's: old and new stories, TEA, 2008, mixed mediaJuta Kaidla „Forest Folk's Winter Feast”, 2009, mixed mediaAlide Dahlberg. Uncle Mole's Party, 2010, mixed mediaAlide Dahlberg. Uncle Mole's Party, 2010, mixed mediaEpp Petrone. Fairytales of Love: Bulgarian fairytale Princess Plays Hide and Seek, 2011, mixed mediaOlivia Saar. Rawr the Lion's and Jack the Rabbit's new adventures, TEA, 2011, mixed mediaOlivia Saar. Rawr the Lion's and Jack the Rabbit's new adventures, TEA, 2011, mixed mediaUrve Tinnuri. A Fairytale of a Brave Pirate, TEA, 2012, mixed mediaTäheke magazine in Kihnu dialect, 2011, mixed mediaTäheke magazine, 12/2012, cover, mixed mediaTäheke magazine, 2/2013, illustration for Contra's poem. Dream of South, mixed media

Mommy’s Kiss

Elar Kuus

Tammerraamat
2021, 25 pp
ISBN: 9789949690756
fiction, fairy-tale

Jellyfish

Ott Arder

TEA Kirjastus
2008, 36 pp
ISBN: 9789985717165
fiction, poetry

The Pirate Ship

Henno Käo

TEA Kirjastus
2007, 48 pp
ISBN: 9789985715840
fiction, poetry
2013
5 Best Designed Estonian Children’s Books, Certificate of Merit

2009
5 Best Designed Estonian Children’s Books, Special prize of the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre (The Golden Book of Estonian Fairy Tales)

2008
Raisin of the Year Award (Once Upon a Time...)

1995
25 Best Designed Estonian Books, Certificate of Merit

1989
Book design competition, 3rd prize, Riga
Baltic Book Graphics Competition, Certificate of Merit
Artist Book Competition, Certificate of Merit, Moscow

1988
25 Best Designed Estonian Books, Certificate of Merit
2026
Exhibition of illustrations from Estonian children’s literature "Children’s Rights: Protected Through Stories", United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA

2025
Estonian illustration exhibition “Hello! Tere!”, Bologna International Children’s Book Fair, Italy

2024
TIT 2023 and TIT 2020 Estonian illustrators, Płock Art Gallery, Poland

2023
VII Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT 2023), Estonian Museum of Architecture

2021
Exhibition of Baltic illustrators “Running with Wolves. Werewolf”, Museo di Villa Arbusto, Ischia, Napoli; Fondazione Creativi Italiani, Rooma; Museo Civico, Frigento, Italy

2020
Group exhibition of Estonian illustrators “Leafing Through Estonian Children’s Books III”, Moscow, Russia

2018
Exhibition of Estonian illustrators “Once Upon a Time...” (Grimm’s Fairy Tales), Kraków, Łomża, Białystok, Szczecin, Płock, Warszaw, Elbląg, Gdańsk, Opole, Poland
Group exhibition of Estonian illustrators „Tra ghiaccio e fuoco“, Rome, Pesco Sannita, Italy
Exhibition of Estonian illustrators “Masters of Estonian children’s books”/ “Power of Pictures” in Russia: Krasnoarmeysk, Moscow

2018–2020
Exhibition of Baltic illustrators “Running with Wolves. Werewolf”, London, the United Kingdom; Estonian Children’s Literature Centre (“Wolf Run”), Tallinn; Gdańsk, Wrocław, Białystok, Warsaw, Płock, Szczecin, Poland; Pordenone, Italy; Vilnius, Lithuania; selected works: Pskov, St. Petersburg, Russia

2017
Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT), Estonia

2015
Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), Slovakia

2013
Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT), Estonia

2012
“A Handful of Book Illustrations by Estonian Artists”, Poland

2011–2018
 Exhibition of artists from the Baltic Sea countries, “Sea Fairy Tales”, Estonia, Finland, Russia, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Estonia

2011
Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), Slovakia

2010–2011
 Travelling Exhibition of Estonian Book Illustration, Russia, Finland

2009
Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT), Estonia

2008
Illustration exhibition “Once Upon a Time…”, Estonian Children’s Literature Centre, Tallinn, Estonia

2007
 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), Slovakia

2005
 Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), Slovakia

2003
Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT), Estonia
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For more information or copyrights, please contact ulla.saar@elk.ee