If you have some time today head on down to the Asian Art Museum for their first ever manga, anime and pop culture convention.  They are located at 200 Larkin St. San Francisco, CA and will be from 11am-5pm.

Activities include:

* An opening ceremony with Gen Taiko starts the day off with a bang and hurls you into space for art and adventure.
* Hone your knowledge of manga and anime with panel discussions by local experts Frederik Schodt and Gilles Poitras.
* Learn about the influence of Japanese woodblock prints on manga with print artist Marco Flavio Marinucci.
* Listen to local Japanese pop culture critic Kelly Haines detail the relationship of dolls to cosplay (“costume play”).
* Produce your own manga inspired by your favorite comic book creator and observe artist demonstrations with local cartoonists Hellen Jo, Mark Miyaki, Jing Bentley, Derek Yu, and Anthony Wu.
* Embark on a themed, guided tour of the museum’s collection galleries, or join an Art Speak Teen Tour of Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga.
* Dress up as your favorite manga, anime, or video game character for cosplay, then wow the audience with a short performance judged for verve and win prizes.*
* Step into the Manga Lounge – create, explore, imagine, and discover manga and anime, two explosive elements of Japanese pop culture.
* Enjoy a performance by Ramen and Rice, who will play music from popular anime and video games.
* Enter the museum’s manga illustration contest beforehand to win dynamite prizes in one of the three age categories.

*Cosplay performances limited to 3-5 minutes; pre-registration required. To sign up for the cosplay contest, email your proposal to awyckoff@asianart.org

Tags: Events

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 7th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under Events.