Several contemporary artists, including Daniel Arsham and Katherine Bernhardt, will exhibit their unpublished works inspired by Mickey Mouse.
The Mickey: The True Original Exhibition will open its doors in New York on November 8th and more than twelve contemporary artists will exhibit for the first time a series of original works inspired by Mickey Mouse. They include Daniel Arsham and Katherine Bernhardt.
The immersive exhibition, designed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse, will be developed over 1500 square meters and will offer multi-sensory interactive experiences, multiple opportunities to take pictures and so much Disney magic around every corner. The Los Angeles-based designer and creative director Darren Romanelli oversaw an artistic team of acclaimed contemporary artists and emerging talents working on different media, formats and with different points of view. Each of them has drawn inspiration from their affinity for Mickey and its importance in the pop culture. Through the upcoming weeks other names will be revealed, but currently the rich line-up includes:
• Tanya Aguiñiga: a wall texture created with plush ears, blankets and fabrics;
• Daniel Arsham: a protruding sculpture entitled “Hiding Mickey”, inspired by the artist’s work in the field of surrealist sculpture (“Hiding Figures”);
• Katherine Bernhardt: a large format mural (10×3) depicting Mickey Mouse, Minni and Mickey Mouse’s favorite food;
• Brian Bress: a video installation showing the artist intent on drawing colorful figures while wearing a custom Mickey Mouse costume;
• Oliver Clegg: an oil painting on recycled wood inspired by The Sorcerer’s Apprentice of the Disney Fantasy film;
• James Jean: large framed photographic prints and hand-made illustrations of his Mickey and Minnie statuettes, created in collaboration with other artists
• London Kaye: a colorful crochet installation that extends from floor to ceiling, inspired by the classic Disney Fanfara short film;
• Oliver Payne: large prints on the wall of vintage photographs of the Disneyland® Resort, with Mickey Mouse adhesive overlays;
• Ariana Papademetropoulos: a watercolor inspired by the old photograph of a Mickey Mouse statuette on his grandmother’s bedside table;
• PEACEMINUSONE: a colorful Mickey Mouse print that will emerge from a layer of plasterboard;
• Brian Roettinger: a graphic mural made with ink and inspired by Mickey Mouse’s iconic comic strips;
• Keiichi Tanaami: a large stampshaped pop-art style, in a frame of crushed wood and glass;
• Darren Romanelli, aka DRx: a 3000% Be @ rbrick wrapped in vintage T-shirts and vintage topolino and minni reconstructed sweatshirts;
• Amanda Ross-Ho: an oversized version of the classic Mickey Mouse T-shirt
• Kenny Scharf: “Cosmic Cavern”, a neon world inspired by the classic Mickey Mouse wristwatch;
• Shinique Smith: a large sculpture of hay bales made of classic Mickey Mouse fabrics and plush.
“Mickey: The True Original Exhibition”
From 8 November 2018 to 10 February 2019, the exhibition ‘Mickey: The True Original Exhibition’ will be open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 20 number 60 of 10th Avenue, New York. Tickets will be available online at
Disney.com/MickeyTrueOriginal for $ 38 per person. Some slots are already sold out for the opening of the exhibition in November, so guests are encouraged to plan their visit well in advance. For more information on the show and behind-the-scenes content, visit Disney.com/MickeyTrueOriginal and follow @MickeyTrueOriginal on Instagram with the hashtag #MickeyTrueOriginal.
