DECEMBER 2009 Appearances/Interviews
4 December, online: Interview on The Right Stuf’s Anime Today podcast on Manga- Cross-Stitch & more.
12 December, British Museum, London: Manga Madness: workshop using materials from the Museum to make your own digital comic strip. Introductory talks by me. Age 5 upwards, free, booking required. (Also on 2 January 2010.)
Ongoing to 15 December: my ten-week evening class on anime at the Workers’ Educational Association. If you missed out on this, contact the WEA and find out about future classes.
Events
5 December, British Museum, London: one-day Textile workshop taught by Kate Sinton of the Royal School of Needlework, using stitches and designs from the Museum’s collection of Mexican textiles. £30, only 18 places, booking required.
29-31 December, Tokyo, Japan: Comiket, huge dojinshi fair encompassing cosplay, dolls, models, games, music and just about every aspect of otaku culture. Over half a million attendees. Held twice a year – next Comiket will be 13-15 August 2010.
NOVEMBER 2009 Appearances
5 November, Asia House, London: presentation on Osamu Tezuka, 6.45 pm. – apologies to all who planned to attend, but this appearance is cancelled. I have a cold and would prefer not to share it!
8 November, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London: I’m speaking about the work of Osamu Tezuka as part of theComica Festival.
13-15 November, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC: the Freer Gallery of Art hosts an Osamu Tezuka tribute season. I’ll be speaking there, along with Frederik L. Schodt, Natsu Onoda Power and Ada Palmer.
19 November, Hunterian Museum, London: Robot Revolution: free screening of Black Jack episode U-18 Knew, introduced by me, followed by a discussion of robots in surgery with real-life experts. Booking required, 020 7869 6560.
20 November, online: Interview on The Right Stuf’s Anime Today podcast about The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
21 November, British Museum, London: From Hokkaido to Infinity: The Manga of Yukinobu Hoshino, a free talk by me (in association with the Comica festival at the ICA) followed by a free screening of three Astro Boy episodes, introduced by me.
26 November, Barbican Cinema, London: Ponyo on the big screen with a cinema sound system. This feels like an early Christmas present – a chance to see this movie as the director intended, months ahead of the UK release. Also on the same evening, Mai Mai Miracle – directed and written by Ghibli alumnus Sunao Katabuchi. Don’t miss out on this great double bill – booking opens 11 October.
Ongoing to 15 December, Luke Street, London: my ten-week evening class on anime at the Workers’ Educational Association. Give me two hours a week between now and Christmas and I’ll give you an overview of the history of anime. It’ll be fun.
Events
3-27 November: Insight into Beauty: Contemporary Craft Inspired By Japan, exhibition at the Embassy of Japan, London. Admission free, photo ID required.
5 November-3 January 2010: Yukinobu Hoshino exhibit in room 94 at the British Museum, in association with The Power of Dogu: Ceramic Figures from Ancient Japan. Lots of associated free events and talks, check out the Museum webpage.
6 November: Los Angeles: Pacific Music Live 09 – Japanese bands in concert at LAX Hilton from 8 pm, features Uchusentai NOIZ and Papillon.
6-26 November, London: Comica, annual festival of comic art, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and other venues
10 November, British Museum, London: Manga in the Museum: Solving Myths and Mysteries, a talk by Paul Gravett (in association with the Comica festival at the ICA)
11 November, Japan Foundation, London: Mutsu Hirokichi – a lecture by Dr. Ayako Hotta-Lister on the student who came to Victorian England in 1887, met a local girl who followed him home to Japan, and brought her back as his wife when he took up a diplomatic post in London. He was a key figure in building Anglo-Japanese relations through the Japan-Britain exhibition of 1910. Free, booking essential.
19-22 November, Harrogate, Yorkshire: The Knitting and Stitching Show. Gorgeous displays to inspire, tempting stuff to buy.
21 November, London: Ponyo at the London Children’s Film Festival (watch the LCFF preview banner!)
29 November, London: Ponyo at the Barbican – extra screening, check website for times.
OCTOBER 2009 Appearances
13 October, Luke Street, London: opening night of my ten-week evening class on anime at the Workers’ Educational Association. Give me two hours a week between now and Christmas and I’ll give you an overview of the history of anime. It’ll be fun.
17 October, Derby: J-Culture Con, a one-day event packed with fun and featuring me!
22 October, Hunterian Museum, London: Medical Miniaturisation: a free screening of Astro Boy episode Mighty Microbe Army and live-action movie Fantastic Voyage, introduced by me. Booking required, 020 7869 6560.
24-25 October, Excel Centre, London: MCM Expo 16, featuring the official launch of The Art of Osamu Tezuka, God of Manga. I’ll be there signing copies of the Tezuka book plus Manga Cross-Stitch and 500 Essential Anime, along with other Ilex authors and their books.
26 October, Barbican Cinema, London: Screentalk with Masahiro Ando and Mashiko Minami of Studio Bones
30 October, Earl’s Court, London: I’m speaking at the Language Show about the many languages of anime and manga.
Events
7 October, Hunterian Museum, London: “The Artist and the Anatomist”, 2009 Thomas Vicary Lecture by Prof. Harold Ellis,booking essential.
8-11 October, Alexandra Palace, London: the Knitting and Stitching Show. Come and drool at the glorious work on show, be inspired by all the fabrics and threads on sale, and buy your copy of Manga Cross-Stitch if you don’t already have it!
9-11 October, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London: Premiere Japan 09 – New Japanese Cinema at BAFTA. Free screenings of six films presented by the Embassy of Japan and BAFTA. plus games. calligraphy, origami, costume – activities for all the family. Booking required.
13 October, British Museum, London: re-opening of the Japanese Galleries, telling the story of Japan from prehistory to the present. Monthly tea ceremony presentations by the Urasenke Foundation. Admission free.
13 October, Japan Foundation, London: The Art of Japanese Fans Past and Present, lecture by Kanji Ishizumi, 5th-generation Kyoto fan maker. Free, but booking required.
14 October, School of Oriental and African Studies, London: Translating Japanese Poetry, a discussion and drinks reception to celebrate the re-publication of the Penguin Book of Japanese Verse. Free, but booking essential.
19 October, Kinokuniya bookstore, 1073 Avenue of the Americas, New York: a whole day celebrating the work of Osamu Tezuka, featuring my latest book The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, with screenings, talks and podcasts, admission free.
23-24 October: Sci-Fi London Oktoberfest 2009. If you’re coming to MCM Expo at Excel, Greenwich is only a short hop away on the DLR, so you can nip over and hear the fabulous Jaine Fenn and a distinguished panel of SF luminaries, see the latest STAR TREK movie and see the wonders of space at London’s sole remaining planetarium. Buy a ticket to the planetarium, which is great, and the talks and other events are FREE.
23-25 October, Northampton: Fuyucon. A weekend of anime, manga and Japanese culture with friendly people in a nice town. Sorry I can’t be there!
25 October, Murray Edwards College, Cambridge: Women in Comics conference with a host of fascinating speakers – sadly not including me. I will be promoting my new book all weekend so I can’t be there. It will be a fascinating event and I wish I could hear the other speakers!
28 October, Hunterian Museum and Cartoon Museum, London: Manga workshop, suitable for ages 6-11, led by comic artist Steve Marchant in association with the Sci-Fi Surgery exhibition. Booking required, £3 child, £5.50 accompanying adult (includes admission to Cartoon Museum,) 020 7869 6560.
28 October, Japan Foundation, London: lecture on the Iwakura Embassy in Britain. Graham Healey of Sheffield University on this key visit to Victorian England by Japanese diplomats and scholars, which profoundly affected the modernisation of Japan. Free, but booking essential.
29 Oct-1 November, Dublin, Eire: The Knitting and Stitching Show. Inspiring exhibits and tempting threads on sale!
SEPTEMBER 2009 Appearances
18-20 September, Atlanta, Georgia: Anime Weekend Atlanta. A bewildering array of anime and manga goodies, plus my sessions on Manga Cross-Stitch and the unknown Osamu Tezuka. Still time to book, so if you’re one of those *ankers with a huge bonus burning a hole in your pocket, book your airline ticket now!
29 September, Barbican Cinema, London: The fourth Japanimation season opens with a screening of three episodes of Devil May Cry.
Events
21 August-10 October, Mackintosh Gallery, Glasgow School of Art: Dai Nippon, an exhibition of kabuki-related late Edo era woodblock prints collected by Scots academic Henry Dyer.
29 August-6 September, all over UK: Japanese circus skills displayed by performers direct from Japan, courtesy of the Japan Foundation. They’re on the South Bank riverside on 6 September.
31 August-14 October, BFI Southbank, London: a superb retrospective season devoted to director Nagisa Oshima
1-6 September, Hayward Gallery, London: last week of Walking In My Mind, an exhibition featuring works by Yayoi Kusama, Yoshitomo Nara and Chiharu Shiota.
4-6 September, Southbank Centre, London: artist Noboru Tsubaki creates a homage to Michael Jackson “inspired by Noh theatre and insectoid manga super-heroes”. It’s part of Pestival, the festival celebrating “insects in art and the art of being an insect”.
5 September-17 October, Oriel Wrecsam, Wrexham: out of the ordinary/extraordinary: japanese contemporary photography, a Japan Foundation touring exhibition of contemporary photos by eleven Japanese artists.
8 September-23 December, Hunterian Museum, London: Sci-Fi Surgery: Medical Robots, an exhibition with comic art, real robots, talks, workshops and screenings of anime and film.
12 September, Royal Festival Hall, London, 8.15-10 p.m.: free screening of the classic silent movie Piccadilly, starring Anna May Wong, with a newly-composed score.
15 September, Spitalfields Old Market, London, 6.30 p.m.: Bon dance rehearsal for London Matsuri on 19 September. All are welcome! Join the Festival’s Bon dance. Meet at the canopy at the entrance to the market (nearest to Liverpool Street station), on the corner ofBrushfield Street and Bishops Square, just outside Patisserie Valerie.
19 September, Spitalfields, London, 11-7 pm: Matsuri – free Japanese festival, art, food and music, Bon dancing, all welcome. I am so sorry to miss this, it’ll be wonderful!
19-21 September, Dance City, Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Refined Colours – Takayuki Fujimoto leads a Japan Foundation dance workshop integrating body and technology. Booking required, no dance experience needed, 3 days £65.
26 September, Hunterian Museum, London: Creepy-Crawly Robot Building Workshop, part of the Sci-Fi Surgery exhibition. Ages 8-12. Booking required, £5, 020 7869 6560.
16 January, online: Interview for The Right Stuf’s Anime Today podcast about 500 Essential Anime Movies You Must Own
Note: earlier appearances and interviews may be added if I ever get round to it.
Helen McCarthy: A Face Made for Radio 