- Last year, David de las Heras received the Euskadi Literature Prize in the Literary Illustration category, and, as in the previous seven years, he was assigned to design this year’s Itzulia Basque Country poster.
- With this initiative, the Department of Culture and Language Policy aims to revive the tradition of poster design and offer artists new opportunities and spaces to showcase their work.
- The poster will be placed at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum.
The poster announcing this year’s Itzulia Basque Country and Itzulia Women competitions is now available. These competitions will be held from April 7 to 12 and May 16 to 18, respectively. For the past seven years, the Itzulia poster has been designed by the winner of the Euskadi Literature Prize in the literary illustration category. This year, the winner and, therefore, the poster designer is David de las Heras.
The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum hosted the presentation of the Itzulia poster this afternoon. The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Culture Andoni Iturbe; Javier Riaño, President of OCETA (Basque Country Cycling Organization), the organizing body of the Itzulia; David de las Heras, the author; and Miguel Zugaza, Director of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Before the Civil War, renowned Basque artists created the images announcing the race, and many of them are stored at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. In 2019, the Basque Government, in collaboration with the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, decided to revive this tradition. Since then, the winner of the Euskadi Literature Prize in the category of literary illustration is responsible for designing the Itzulia poster. The work is then housed at the museum. David de las Heras explained that the poster reflects on the relationship between humankind and the landscape of the Basque Country, whose character and identity he finds deeply defined. “I live in Barcelona, and when I return to my homeland, I notice a great change as I arrive in the Basque Country. Those mountains, those green landscapes, those clouds…” he explained. To create the work, he worked with oil on paper, seeking to convey the scale of nature in comparison to humankind. “I liked the idea of how humanity must struggle and face the challenges of a difficult path imposed by nature,” he notes.
The Deputy Minister of Culture, Andoni Iturbe, explained that with this initiative, the Basque Government wanted to revive a tradition, unite two fields such as art and sport, and offer our artists new opportunities to showcase their work and reach audiences they don’t normally reach. “The recognition of artists is one of our pillars of work, and we believe that being here today at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, connecting different stakeholders in a project, is another way to achieve that goal,” he stated.
From the association organizing the races, Javier Riaño expressed his joy at continuing this enriching collaboration, in which art and sport merge into one. “We hope to continue this synergy for many more years and see different works with which to represent our careers,” they statedor his part, the director of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Miguel Zugaza… Thanks to this initiative, the designs by Yolanda Mosquera, Asisko Urmeneta, Miren Asiain, Javier Isusi, Maite Mutuberria, and Joseba Larratxe, winners in the Literary Works Illustration category of the Euskadi Literature Awards, are on display at the museum, along with that of David de las Heras.
David de las Heras
David de las Heras is a visual artist and illustrator. He holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and is a graduate of the Escola Massana illustration program. His artwork has been exhibited in countries such as Germany and Portugal. As an illustrator, he has published several books, including Martín de Grumete a Capitán (Martin from Grumete to Captain) and Atlas de la España Imaginada (Atlas of Imagined Spain). He also specializes in book cover design, with notable work for pianist James Rhodes and his cover for the book Kalimán in 2015. His work can be found in newspapers, Sunday papers, and cultural supplements. In 2024, he received the Euskadi Literature Prize in the Literary Works Illustration category for “Campos de Castilla” (Fields of Castile).
Itzulia Basque Country 2025
This year’s Itzulia Basque Country will be held from April 7th to 12th. This year’s edition will begin in Vitoria-Gasteiz and end in Eibar. In total there will be six stages: Vitoria-Gasteiz – Baskonia-Alavés; Pamplona-Lodosa; Zarautz-Beasain; Beasain – Markina-Xemein; Orduña – Gernika-Lumo; Eibar-Eibar.
