From a vintage classic to an emblem of modern-day entertainment, Mickey Mouse has been celebrated for almost a century. Entitled “Mickey: The True Original & Ever Curious”, an exhibition co-sponsored by Disney and UCCA Lab is now ongoing in Shanghai YUZ Museum.

Consisting of four parts (Hello Mickey!, The True Original, Mickey and/in China, and Together with Mickey), the show has been created by 50 Chinese and foreign contemporary artists. Through painting, calligraphy, sculpture, installation, new media and other art forms, they interpret the time-honored cultural connotation of Mickey Mouse and bring innovative and immersive artistic experiences to Chinese audiences, thus inspiring greater imagination and curiosity.

The show will run until October 10. After the Shanghai stop, the exhibition will tour around other Chinese cities, including Chengdu, Shenzhen and Beijing.

According to Kermid Rahman, senior vice president and general manager of Consumer Products, Walt Disney Greater China & Korea, the China tour of the exhibition is an exploration of diverse art forms by Disney and UCCA Lab. He hopes to kick off the wonderful art journey with Chinese fans and consumers, and explore Mickey’s spirit of being brave, adventurous, and always full of curiosity.

“As partners, UCCA Lab and Disney worked together to introduce Chinese artists’ perspectives into the exhibition, in order to present a dreamlike time,” said You Yang, curator of the exhibition. He is deputy director of UCCA and artistic director of UCCA Lab. As he said, by putting successive moments into a common space, and juxtaposing visual and cultural symbols, they are inviting the audience to write their own curious stories.

Story & Video by Cao Jun

Translation: Wu Qiong