Unwilling to see female artists brushed off as having sketchbooks full of cupcakes and fairies, Australia’s Yen Magazine took initiative. Their goal was to establish a publication – the first of its kind – to act as an annual anthology of female artists and designers. And so was born, Curvy: a stocky book filled with juicy illustrations, drawings and graphics from hot Australian and international talents.

Over one thousand submissions were received for the 5th edition and each page of the book was handpicked for its diversity, unique style and creativity.

“The women in this industry are inspiring and very influential within the market,” says Melissa Bergin, joint publisher and creator of Curvy. “Curvy is a great way for us to aggregate this community of creative young women and to provide them with an exciting project to be part of which has now grown to a global scale with 35 countries involved.”

Throughout the book are profiles on seven elite talents, including Eleanor Yap (Australia) Kat Von D (USA), and Maria Vittoria Bennatti (Italy). Each girl was interviewed and asked to give an insider photo tour of their studio or workspace. 

“We aim to include a selection of female artists from a range of countries, intermixed with a good selection of Australian artists,” says Kristy Bradley, editor of both Curvy and Yen. “Each profiled artist from Curvy5 has an interesting story beyond her illustrative work.”

Curvy5 doesn’t completely steer clear of cutesy, pop imagery but it does give an equal dose of some more classic and experimental styles. It also serves up heaps of prolific new artists, some of whom were able to present and sell original works at the book launch, which toured Australia throughout April ’08.

Words by Alana Armstrong.

Eleanor Yap

Melissa Haslam

Maria Vittoria Benatti

 Nina Maskiel

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