 | |
| Date | May 23 – August 26, 2019 (2019-05-23 –2019-08-26) |
|---|---|
| Venue | The British Museum |
| Location | London, England |
| Patrons | Citi,IAG Cargo[2] |
| Organised by | Nicole Rousmaniere and Matsuba Ryoko (curators,Sainsbury Institute for Art)[3] |
| Website | Official website |
The Citi Exhibition: Manga (or simplyManga, stylized asThe Citi exhibition Manga マンガ') was anexhibition housed at theBritish Museum from May 23 to August 26, 2019. It was the largest exhibition ofmanga (Japanesecomics orgraphic novels) ever held outside of Japan.
The Citi Exhibition: Manga was organized byThe National Art Center of Tokyo and the Organisation for the Promotion of Manga and Anime, and curated by theSainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures.[4] It was held from May 23 to August 26, 2019, at theBritish Museum inLondon, England.[a]The Citi Exhibition: Manga was the largest exhibition of manga ever held outside of Japan,[2][5] and focused broadly on the history of manga, its artistic value, its social impact, and the manga production process.[3] The exhibition itself was divided into six zones:[4][6]
A central display of the exhibition wasShintomiza Kabuki Theatre Curtain (1880) byKawanabe Kyosai;The Citi Exhibition: Manga was the final international exhibition of the piece, as it will no longer be loaned to museums outside of Japan due its age and fragility.[5] Other major displays included original artwork byAkira Toriyama from his manga seriesDragon Ball, in the first time the series' original artwork has been exhibited outside of Japan; a digital re-creation ofComic Takaoka, the first manga store in Japan;[6] and the 12-minutesilentdocumentaryManga: No Limits, Studio Ghibli in Close-Up, focused on the works of the anime studioStudio Ghibli.[4]
Anexhibition catalog was published in 2019 byThames & Hudson in both English and Japanese.[3][7]
The Citi Exhibition: Manga was the British Museum's most popular exhibition in 2019, and had the youngest audience on record for any paid exhibition at the museum.[3]
In a review forThe Guardian, criticJonathan Jones gave the exhibition 2 out of 5 stars, calling it "a tragicomic abandonment of a great museum's purpose," criticizing the juxtaposition of classic Japanese art with modern manga as inviting patrons "to seriously accept that manga’s big-eyed heroes [...] are themselves as worthy of attention as a work byHokusai."[8] In a responding review also published inThe Guardian, criticDavid Barnett wrote that manga "belongs in the British Museum as much as theElgin Marbles", and commended the British Museum for having "rightly recognised [that manga] has contributed rather uniquely to modern culture over at least a hundred years, and continues to do so".[9] In commentary forThe Comics Grid, criticSalina Christmas wrote that they were "in awe" of the exhibition, and that they were "proud to see Asian culture enjoying this level of prominence at the British Museum.".[4][10]
