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Hello from Japan! Exhibit to be Third in a Series of Major Cultural Exhibitions by CMOM

New York, NY – September , 2014 – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) announced today that it is using a grant from the Freeman Foundation Asian Culture Exhibit Series to create Hello from Japan!, a 1,500 sq. ft. interactive traveling exhibit that will transport families to a present-day setting in Tokyo. CMOM was one of five children’s museums to receive the grant funded by The Freeman Foundation and administered by Association of Children’s Museums.

The upcoming exhibit will invite families to explore an immersive, yet small-scale, Tokyo streetscape and Shinto park. Visitors to Hello from Japan! will learn how ancient traditions of Japan co-exist with the pervasive contemporary culture of kawaii-inspired graphics and products, defined by round figures, vibrancy and cuteness. The contrast between modern culture and traditional Japanese aesthetics will be demonstrated through the representation of an authentic present-day Tokyo streetscape that connects to a bridge leading into a natural Shinto shrine park setting.

Based upon the colorful and bustling streets in the modern Harajuku district, the exhibit’s streetscape explores contemporary Japanese culture by evoking the friendly feel of the Japanese kawaii aesthetic, which emerged in the 1970s among Japanese school children and has now permeated cultures worldwide. Families are introduced to Japan’s unique culture through child-friendly characters and graphics. Visitors express their own individuality and simultaneously gain insight into modern Japanese society as they create kawaii outfits, design playful mascots, explore regional cuisines, practice writing Japanese characters, and sing along to Japanese children’s songs in a karaoke booth.

At the end of the streetscape is a bridge that leads from the contemporary urban setting into a more tranquil Shinto shrine park setting. The park explores the traditional, nature-based practices and beliefs of Shinto, an indigenous Japanese religion. Families will learn about the appreciation of diverse and powerful elements of nature. They will also be encouraged to appreciate their own local parks, trees and natural settings after they explore the exhibit’s crawl-through forest, make a wish at a large Wishing Tree, and encounter a few of Japan’s kami (spirits) in and around the Shinto shrine.

“CMOM is committed to exploring major world cultures as part of our commitment to help prepare children for the global society of the 21st century. Hello from Japan! follows major exhibitions about the dawn of western civilization in Gods, Myths and Mortals: Discover Ancient Greece and Monkey King: A Story from China about the Silk Road and Chinese culture. A fourth cultural project about Muslim cultures is under development, and the Museum is considering future exhibitions about Irish culture and pre-Columbian South America,” said CMOM’s executive director Andrew Ackerman. “Exhibiting these cultures is especially important in New York City, the most diverse metropolis on the planet, home to every people, speaking every language. In learning about our neighbors, we are learning about ourselves.”

CMOM’s director of exhibitions Tom Quaranta, said, “we chose to focus on the kawaii aesthetic since it is the basis of so many familiar icons and products, like Hello Kitty and Pokeman, that are popular in America today, and because it is an aesthetic that originated with children. It is a priority for CMOM to present authentic views of culture in a way that is fun and accessible to children and that will highlight the joy and beauty of the unique culture.”

A full range of complementary performances, workshops and programs will launch at the museum when Hello from Japan! opens in January 2015 and will continue throughout the exhibit’s five-month run.

Advisors to the exhibition and the programming series include professors from Harvard University and Columbia University, the Japan Society, the Asia Society, and the Association for Children’s Museums.

Upon closing at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan in May 2015, the exhibit will travel to eight other children’s museums around the country, including but not limited to: the Children’s Museum of the Upstate (Greenville, SC), Children’s Discovery Museum (Normal, IL), Mississippi Children’s Museum (Jackson, MS), Discovery Children’s Museum (Las Vegas, NV), and Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center (Honolulu, HI).

About Children’s Museum of Manhattan
The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) is the vibrant home to 350,000 visitors a year from all segments of the NYC community and tourists from around the world. The museum’s educational mission in early childhood education, arts, creativity, health and culture thrives within our home on 83rd Street and in dozens of communities across the city as well as through national initiatives with leading authorities and government agencies. Child development is at the core of CMOM’s values and mission. Our vision is to be the bridge that connects children and adults with their community, school and home in order to prepare our children for the global world in which they live. For details regarding all of CMOM’s programs and initiatives, please visit www.cmom.org.

About The Freeman Foundation
The Freeman Foundation was established in 1993 by Mansfield Freeman. This private foundation is committed to increasing and strengthening the understanding of nations in East Asia.

About Association of Children’s Museums (ACM)
In an increasingly complex world, children’s museums provide a place where all kids can learn through play and exploration with the caring adults in their lives. There are approximately 400 children’s museums around the world, which annually reach more than thirty-one million visitors. ACM provides leadership, professional development, advocacy, and resources for its member organizations and individuals. To learn more about ACM and to find an ACM-member children’s museum near you, visit www.ChildrensMuseums.org