The Japanese American National Museum is now traveling Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, the first large-scale Hello Kitty museum retrospective in the United States.

Organized as part of the global icon’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, the exhibition examines the colorful history of Hello Kitty and her influence on popular culture. Hello! includes an extensive product survey, with rare and unique items from the Sanrio archives, alongside a selection of innovative contemporary artworks inspired by Hello Kitty and her world.

Hello! is curated by Christine Yano, PhD, author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, and Jamie Rivadeneira, founder and owner of the Los Angeles pop culture boutique JapanLA.

The accompanying full-color catalog features extensive photographs of exhibition artwork and a curated collection of Hello Kitty artifacts chronicling her history and evolution into a global lifestyle brand, as well as essays by curators Christine R. Yano, PhD and Jamie Rivadeneira.

For more information about this presentation, contact 206.770.2700 or visit their website at EMPmuseum.org.

Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty was on display at the Japanese American National Museum from October 11, 2014 – May 31, 2015.