Image: Brooklyn Museum, New York
The Brooklyn Museum will open ‘Art of Manga’ and ‘Manga Before Manga: Japanese Art from the Collection’ on October 3. The latter is a 21-work Spotlight installation offering historical context for the more than 600 drawings in ‘Art of Manga’, the exhibition’s East Coast debut.
‘Art of Manga’ is described as the first major exhibition in the Americas to explore manga—Japanese comics and graphic novels—as an art form. Its selection of more than 600 original drawings addresses manga’s immersive power and social impact. Works from beloved series including ‘Inuyasha’, ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’, ‘Ōoku: The Inner Chambers’ and ‘ONE PIECE’ are among the original manga artworks announced for the Brooklyn presentation.
The companion installation turns to works from the museum’s collection. Across 21 objects, ‘Manga Before Manga’ traces traditions and techniques that shaped the contemporary art form. The installation examines how Japanese artists have used line and form to convey emotion and power, as well as sound and motion, for more than 900 years. Its role is specifically historical: it provides a focused account of those visual resources in relation to the larger manga exhibition without folding the collection works into ‘Art of Manga’.
The two shows also have distinct organisational structures. ‘Art of Manga’ is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. At the Brooklyn Museum, its presentation is organized by Joan Cummins, Curatorial Chair and Lisa and Bernard Selz Senior Curator, Asian Art; Pauline Vermare, Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography; and Yara Doumani, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Islamic World. ‘Manga Before Manga’ is organized by Cummins.
‘Art of Manga’ is scheduled to run from October 3, 2026, through January 31, 2027.
