The Brooklyn Museum Presents Art of Manga
Opening October 3, 2026, Art of Manga is the first large-scale exhibition in the Americas to explore manga as an art form, spotlighting iconic Japanese artwork and its global influence.
Art of Manga makes its East Coast debut this fall, featuring more than 600 drawings by influential manga artists, highlighting the immersive power and the social impact of manga in the world today. The globally popular art form, manga, is an innovative genre of Japanese comics and graphic novels characterized by evocatively drawn artwork designed to draw readers deeply into its worlds. Art of Manga is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and is curated at both venues by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is overseen by Joan Cummins, Curatorial Chair and Selz Senior Curator, Asian Art, and Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, with Yara Doumani, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Islamic World.
The exhibition explores the vital role of artists in the world of Japanese comics and graphic novels. Though manga is a vast industry, it is driven by the artists who design, draw, and often author the stories that define the medium. The exhibition centers on influential manga artists, or mangaka, of diverse ages and backgrounds, each bringing distinct approaches to storytelling across genres. Each mangaka's work employs compelling storytelling and imagery, creating worlds and characters that are familiar or supernatural, historical or futuristic, contemplative or action-packed. Their narratives address universal themes such as coming of age, discovering hidden strengths, and finding beauty in the ordinary, as well as contemporary issues such as environmentalism, gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, and socioeconomic inequality. Many of the featured mangaka draw manga by hand, using ink on paper.
“The show's focus on artists is what makes it so special. US audiences almost never get a chance to see original drawings for Japanese manga, let alone such an extensive selection,” says Cummins. “The artwork offers a window into each artist's creative process and an opportunity to focus on what distinguishes their work. Using astonishing drafting skills, these artists create whole worlds that are alternately relatable or completely fantastic.”
“Manga is a form of visual storytelling that employs the power of line to literally draw the reader into the narrative. Manga as an art form has quickly grown to become a global phenomenon, demonstrating that universality does not depend on language,” remarked Rousmaniere. “With the unusually large number of original drawings (genga) on display, the exhibition allows the viewer to be immersed in each manga title, becoming fluent in the form by the end of the exhibition.”
Presented in the Museum's soaring first-floor Great Hall galleries, the exhibition begins with an introduction to manga. Visitors will encounter works from foundational manga artists Chiba Tetsuya (born 1939), a master of story-driven manga, and Akatsuka Fujio (1935–2008), known as the “King of Gag manga,” placing the medium in its historical context and providing viewers with insights into what manga is, how it is read, and how it is created and consumed. The exhibition continues with individual sections dedicated to the work of eight major manga artists, exploring their processes as well as the thoughtful ways in which they use line drawing and composition to evoke motion, space, sound, emotion, and physical power. Featured artists in alphabetical order include:
Also featured are drawings by Itō Junji, Agi Tadashi and Okimoto Shū (Drops of God), and Tori Miki, in collaboration with Yamazaki Mari (PLINIVS). A final section showcases Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage and its exploration of manga as a living art form, highlighting Oda Eiichiro's ONE PIECE, Ikeda Riyoko's Rose of Versailles, and Kubo Tite's BLEACH art prints, along with a selection from artist Tanaami Keiichi's collaboration with mangaka Akatsuka Fujio.
For more than 200 years, the Museum has embraced creative expression that shapes how people see themselves and the world around them, both within and beyond traditional art histories. Tracing manga's wide-reaching aesthetic, narrative, and cultural impact, Art of Manga highlights a medium that is deeply beloved across generations and cultures worldwide. The exhibition thus offers the Museum a powerful opportunity to welcome new audiences, drawn by their passion for manga, while also inviting artists, art history scholars, and museumgoers less familiar with the art form to engage with manga's artistic rigor, innovation, and global resonance.
The exhibition also builds on the Museum's long-standing engagement with Japanese art, complementing its extensive collection of historical works that span centuries of artistic production. This approach was recently exemplified by the 2024 exhibition Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo (featuring Takashi Murakami), which brought historical Japanese woodblock prints into conversation with contemporary works by globally renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. These exhibitions underscore the Museum's commitment to presenting Japanese art as both historically grounded and dynamically evolving.
The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue Art of Manga, edited by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, published by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in association with Viz Media, LLC, 2025.
CREDITS
Art of Manga is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Support for the exhibition tour has been generously provided by Dai Nippon Printing.
The Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund supports the research, development, and presentation of all the Museum's exhibitions, from major international shows to innovative curatorial projects, ensuring the Museum can present ambitious, world-class exhibitions that engage diverse audiences. We gratefully acknowledge the donors whose support of the Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund makes this work possible: Nancy P. Magoon, John H. and Regina K. Scully, and Deedee and Barrie Wigmore.
ABOUT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
For 200 years, the Brooklyn Museum has been recognized as a trailblazer. Through a vast array of exhibitions, public programs, and community-centered initiatives, it continues to broaden the narratives of art, uplift a multitude of voices, and center creative expression within important dialogues of the day. Housed in a landmark building in the heart of Brooklyn, the Museum is home to an astounding encyclopedic collection of more than 140,000 objects representing cultures worldwide and over 6,000 years of history—from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to significant American works, to groundbreaking installations presented in the only feminist art center of its kind. As one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country, the Brooklyn Museum remains committed to innovation, creating compelling experiences for its communities and celebrating the power of art to inspire awe, conversation, and joy.
Art of Manga makes its East Coast debut this fall, featuring more than 600 drawings by influential manga artists, highlighting the immersive power and the social impact of manga in the world today. The globally popular art form, manga, is an innovative genre of Japanese comics and graphic novels characterized by evocatively drawn artwork designed to draw readers deeply into its worlds. Art of Manga is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and is curated at both venues by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, University of East Anglia. The Brooklyn Museum presentation is overseen by Joan Cummins, Curatorial Chair and Selz Senior Curator, Asian Art, and Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography, with Yara Doumani, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Islamic World.
The exhibition explores the vital role of artists in the world of Japanese comics and graphic novels. Though manga is a vast industry, it is driven by the artists who design, draw, and often author the stories that define the medium. The exhibition centers on influential manga artists, or mangaka, of diverse ages and backgrounds, each bringing distinct approaches to storytelling across genres. Each mangaka's work employs compelling storytelling and imagery, creating worlds and characters that are familiar or supernatural, historical or futuristic, contemplative or action-packed. Their narratives address universal themes such as coming of age, discovering hidden strengths, and finding beauty in the ordinary, as well as contemporary issues such as environmentalism, gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, and socioeconomic inequality. Many of the featured mangaka draw manga by hand, using ink on paper.
“The show's focus on artists is what makes it so special. US audiences almost never get a chance to see original drawings for Japanese manga, let alone such an extensive selection,” says Cummins. “The artwork offers a window into each artist's creative process and an opportunity to focus on what distinguishes their work. Using astonishing drafting skills, these artists create whole worlds that are alternately relatable or completely fantastic.”
“Manga is a form of visual storytelling that employs the power of line to literally draw the reader into the narrative. Manga as an art form has quickly grown to become a global phenomenon, demonstrating that universality does not depend on language,” remarked Rousmaniere. “With the unusually large number of original drawings (genga) on display, the exhibition allows the viewer to be immersed in each manga title, becoming fluent in the form by the end of the exhibition.”
Presented in the Museum's soaring first-floor Great Hall galleries, the exhibition begins with an introduction to manga. Visitors will encounter works from foundational manga artists Chiba Tetsuya (born 1939), a master of story-driven manga, and Akatsuka Fujio (1935–2008), known as the “King of Gag manga,” placing the medium in its historical context and providing viewers with insights into what manga is, how it is read, and how it is created and consumed. The exhibition continues with individual sections dedicated to the work of eight major manga artists, exploring their processes as well as the thoughtful ways in which they use line drawing and composition to evoke motion, space, sound, emotion, and physical power. Featured artists in alphabetical order include:
- Araki Hirohiko (born 1960), artist and author behind the long-running and globally beloved manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
- Oda Eiichiro (born 1975), artist and author of ONE PIECE, one of the best-selling manga series and books of all time
- Takahashi Rumiko (born 1957), best-selling artist for over 48 years, known for specializing in shōnen, “boy's style” manga featuring romantic comedy and often supernatural elements
- Tagame Gengoroh (born 1964), critically acclaimed artist in the gay manga genre
- Taniguchi Jirō (1947–2017), internationally acclaimed manga artist known for his cinematic storytelling and his work spanning literary, historical, science fiction, and gourmet manga
- Yamazaki Mari (born 1967), a multidisciplinary artist who studied art history and oil painting at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and specializes in both hand-drawn and digital illustrations, transforming Western historical narratives and biographies into manga
- Yamashita Kazumi (born 1959), award-winning manga artist who began in shōjo “girl's style” and later became known for her literary, essay, and seinen “young adult” works exploring societal pressures, everyday relationships, and the built environment
- Yoshinaga Fumi (born 1971), acclaimed for her refined, character-driven storytelling and her long-running series, which include both nuanced, often humorous, depictions of everyday life and her epic Edo-period historical works
Also featured are drawings by Itō Junji, Agi Tadashi and Okimoto Shū (Drops of God), and Tori Miki, in collaboration with Yamazaki Mari (PLINIVS). A final section showcases Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage and its exploration of manga as a living art form, highlighting Oda Eiichiro's ONE PIECE, Ikeda Riyoko's Rose of Versailles, and Kubo Tite's BLEACH art prints, along with a selection from artist Tanaami Keiichi's collaboration with mangaka Akatsuka Fujio.
For more than 200 years, the Museum has embraced creative expression that shapes how people see themselves and the world around them, both within and beyond traditional art histories. Tracing manga's wide-reaching aesthetic, narrative, and cultural impact, Art of Manga highlights a medium that is deeply beloved across generations and cultures worldwide. The exhibition thus offers the Museum a powerful opportunity to welcome new audiences, drawn by their passion for manga, while also inviting artists, art history scholars, and museumgoers less familiar with the art form to engage with manga's artistic rigor, innovation, and global resonance.
The exhibition also builds on the Museum's long-standing engagement with Japanese art, complementing its extensive collection of historical works that span centuries of artistic production. This approach was recently exemplified by the 2024 exhibition Hiroshige's 100 Famous Views of Edo (featuring Takashi Murakami), which brought historical Japanese woodblock prints into conversation with contemporary works by globally renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. These exhibitions underscore the Museum's commitment to presenting Japanese art as both historically grounded and dynamically evolving.
The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue Art of Manga, edited by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, published by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco in association with Viz Media, LLC, 2025.
CREDITS
Art of Manga is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Support for the exhibition tour has been generously provided by Dai Nippon Printing.
The Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund supports the research, development, and presentation of all the Museum's exhibitions, from major international shows to innovative curatorial projects, ensuring the Museum can present ambitious, world-class exhibitions that engage diverse audiences. We gratefully acknowledge the donors whose support of the Brooklyn Museum Exhibition Fund makes this work possible: Nancy P. Magoon, John H. and Regina K. Scully, and Deedee and Barrie Wigmore.
ABOUT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM
For 200 years, the Brooklyn Museum has been recognized as a trailblazer. Through a vast array of exhibitions, public programs, and community-centered initiatives, it continues to broaden the narratives of art, uplift a multitude of voices, and center creative expression within important dialogues of the day. Housed in a landmark building in the heart of Brooklyn, the Museum is home to an astounding encyclopedic collection of more than 140,000 objects representing cultures worldwide and over 6,000 years of history—from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to significant American works, to groundbreaking installations presented in the only feminist art center of its kind. As one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country, the Brooklyn Museum remains committed to innovation, creating compelling experiences for its communities and celebrating the power of art to inspire awe, conversation, and joy.
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