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Manga Exhibit at British Museum from May 2019 (Updated)

posted on by Andrew Osmond
Described as the largest ever manga exhibition outside Japan, will run to August 26

The British Museum in London has announced that it will hold an exhibition about Manga, described as the largest mounted outside Japan, from May 23 to August 26.

Admission will be free to members of the museum; non-members can pre-book tickets (with particular dates and timeslots) at the above link. Adult tickets for non-members are £19.50, while concessions are available, including free entry to under-16s if accompanied by an adult, and a 2-for-1 ticket deal for students on Fridays.

The image on the right, showing the character Asirpa from the manga Golden Kamuy by Satoru Noda, is used on the British Museum website to promote the event.

The website describes the exhibit as follows:

Enter a graphic world where art and storytelling collide in the largest exhibition of manga ever to take place outside of Japan. Manga is a visual narrative art form that has become a multimedia global phenomenon, telling stories with themes from gender to adventure, in real or imagined worlds. Immersive and playful, the exhibition will explore manga's global appeal and cultural crossover, showcasing original Japanese manga and its influence across the globe, from anime to ‘cosplay’ dressing up. This influential art form entertains, inspires and challenges – and is brought to life like never before in this ground-breaking exhibition.

The museum added in a Twitter thread, "But why a show about manga at the British Museum? Our curators look after a growing collection of manga, and continue to collect contemporary works in this hugely significant genre... Many of the objects in our #MangaExhibition are loans coming to the UK for the first time, transported by logistics partner IAG Cargo.

The exhibit is also described as being "organised with The National Art Center, Tokyo and the Organisation for the Promotion of Manga and Anime."

Update - The Evening Standard newspaper reports that the exhibit will "feature a “cosplay section” where visitors can dress up as their favourite manga characters, and a recreation of Tokyo's oldest manga bookshop." Additionally, visitors will also "be able to download digital manga, have their portrait 'manga-fied' in a special photo booth, and learn about the influence on manga of popular games such as Pokémon.

Among the exhibits is a huge 17-metre-long curtain used in traditional Kabuki theatre, created in 1880, which will be displayed across one wall and depicts demons and ghosts.

The Guardian newspaper reports that the exhibit will include such titles as Keiko Takemiya's pioneeering Boys Love manga The Poem of Wind and Trees and Moto Hagio's vampire strip Poe Clan.

The show is described as family-friendly, yet not shying away from adult themes including horror and violence.


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