Manga Masterclass with Japanese Cultural Envoy, Seiji Iwami

Sunday, 20 February, 15:00 - 16:30
Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum

The event is aimed at 13 - 19-year-olds.

In a special event at the V&A, Seiji Iwami will talk about his work, explain how he became a professional manga artist and answer questions about the world of manga in an interview with fellow artist Karen Rubins. He will then conduct an hour-long masterclass where you can follow his distinctive manga style. Mr. Iwami is visiting the UK as a Japanese Cultural Envoy, on a programme sponsored by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, which promotes deeper appreciation of aspects of Japanese culture overseas.

Mr Iwami started his career working as an assistant to acclaimed Manga artist Tsutomu Yashioji in 1980. His break came when he entered a manga-writing competition organised by the Houbunsha publishers the following year and his entry was subsequently included in their publication, 'Manga Time'. This was the beginning of his career. He first drew for the Sankei Sports Newspaper in 1989 and continues to do so. Mr Iwami started his 4-koma (4 cell manga) series 'Bonchan' for Osaka Shimbun in 1994, which appeared in over 2,500 editions. He won the Big Comic Magazine's '4-koma Award' in 1998 and continues to draw for newspapers and various publications today.

This event is free, but advance booking in essential. For more information, please see the V&A website:

www.vam.ac.uk/activ_events/young_people/workshops