The NRW-Forum Düsseldorf will present the exhibition ASIA POP starting September 18, 2026, highlighting the diversity of popular culture from East Asia.
Image above: Takumi Ogata, What is kawaii, 2022, digital painting, © takumi2ndtonkotsu / @artist takumi ogata.
ASIA POP starting on September 18, 2026, highlighting the diversity of popular culture from East Asia. Comics, film, food, and much more—East Asian pop culture plays a decisive role in shaping the global mainstream. With ASIA POP, the NRW-Forum presents the first comprehensive exhibition in Germany dedicated to this development and its cultural-political, economic, and aesthetic influences.
From kawaii characters like Hello Kitty to animated films by Studio Ghibli, K-pop bands such as BTS, and video games like Black Myth: Wukong, ASIA POP brings the diversity of East Asian popular culture to life.
In Düsseldorf—the city with the largest East Asian population in Germany—the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf creates a visual, sonic, and culinary panorama of East Asian pop culture across 1,200 square meters, featuring around 400 works.
From kawaii characters like Hello Kitty to animated films by Studio Ghibli, K-pop bands such as BTS, and video games like Black Myth: Wukong, ASIA POP makes the diversity of East Asian popular culture tangible.
In Düsseldorf—the city with the largest East Asian population in Germany—the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf creates a visual, sonic, and culinary panorama of East Asian pop culture across 1,200 square meters, featuring around 400 works.
Random Play Dance, selfie stations, and arcade machines: the different sections of the exhibition invite visitors, through interactive elements, to engage with these trends, critically reflect on them, and share their own fan experiences.
Curators: Charlotte Ickler, cultural education staff member at Kunstpalast; Nana Tazuke-Steiniger, independent curator; and Judith Winterhager, curatorial assistant at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf.
WHEN?
Opening: September 17, 2026, 7:00 PM
Events dates: 18. September 2026 to May 2027
WHERE?
NRW-Forum Düsseldorf Ehrenhof 2 · D – 40479 Düsseldorf
