Art exhibition featuring works by two Japanese artists—Masae Suzuki and Setusko Suzuki—is currently onoing at Siddhartha Art Gallery in Babarmahal, in the Capital. The exhibition was inaugurated by Masashi Ogawa, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, on Sunday.

These mother-daughter duo’s paintings are titled My Cities Jukai from the Sky, and Cool Japan, respectively.

Speaking to the Post about the exhibitions, Sangeeta Thapa, director of Siddhartha Art Gallery, said, “Masae’s artworks are dense—her paintings depict her life as a flight attendant while working with Lufthansa. However, her daughter Setusko is an anime/manga artist in Japan, who has contributed a lot in the anime scene there.”

The exhibit also features works by various Nepali Manga artists, through collaboration with Otaku Next.

According to Thapa, the collaboration with Otaku Next was necessary, as they wanted to bring both the parallel worlds together at a single platform. “These exhibitions are different than the contemporary art that the gallery has previously featured and the set of visitors too have changed,” she added.

“This is a huge opportunity for the Nepali manga artists to get their work on display along with Setusko. Sukriti Mannadhar, one of our artists, never went to art school but she’s every bit like a professional artist. We’re glad that the whole manga/anime culture has been recognised and more people are showing interest in it,” said Kavin Shah, Managing Director of Otaku Next. He adds, “It was SAG who approached us as Setusko’s artworks matched our interests. We are always looking towards collaboration and making manga and anime big in Nepal.”

The exhibition also has manga works and merchandises on sale from both Setusko and Otaku Next. Prior to the exhibition, Setusko also chaired a workshop on fan-art.

The exhibition will run till September 27.