Manga fans, young and old, will be thrilled to hear that Louvre Abu Dhabi is launching its very first “Manga Lab” today, to coincide with its new exhibition Japanese Connections: The Birth of Modern Décor.
The lab is based in Louvre Abu Dhabi’s forum, and will feature an “expression wall” where visitors can write or draw their own thoughts on Manga-inspired cartoons, chill out reading zones stocked with Manga books and comics inspired by Japanese Manga Cafes, and creative areas where visitors can add their own touches to incomplete Manga-style comics. The lab will also be displaying Manga-inspired art works from Emirati and locally based artists.
The area is aimed primarily at children and young adults, although with Manga’s popularity among all age groups, and the presence of a selection of retro arcade games, you can be sure that a few of the bigger boys and girls will be taking a look too on their way to or from the main exhibits.
The Manga Lab will also be hosting a number of Manga-themed creative workshops from now until January, with topics including “Make your own Manga t-shirt” and “How to write a Manga.” Workshop leaders will include the likes of Abu Dhabi-based Manga artist Asami Art and the Cartoon Network Animation Academy’s Maryam Al Atouli.
_________________
Read more:
Blade at 20: how the film kick-started Marvel's cinematic success
New exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi celebrates the artistic relationship between Japan and France
Film review: Isle of Dogs is visually stunning, but culturally questionable
_________________
Another high point is the central VR space, where visitors can pull on a VR headset and take themselves "inside" a selection of paintings from the main exhibition. The National checked out Utagawa Hiroshige's Ichikoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital, where we discovered we could get in a boat and sail under the bridge and down the river, checking out the scenery and skies for 360-degrees around as we went. It had nothing to do with Manga, but was fun none the less.
Entrance to the Manga Lab, which is on until January 5, 2019, is included with general admission tickets. Louvre Abu Dhabi is open from 10am-8pm on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and until 10pm on Thursdays and Fridays. The museum is closed on Mondays. For more information visit www.louvreabudhabi.ae.
