New Manga exhibition is talking Japanese at University of Cumbria

Junko Mizuno was at the university’s Brampton Road campus on Thursday, ahead of an appearance at an international comic festival in the county.

Her pictures were displayed in the university’s Vallum Gallery.

Laura Baxter, a senior lecturer at the university’s Institute of the Arts - and curator of the Vallum Gallery - said: “We’ve been delighted to welcome Junko, who is an internationally renowned Manga and comic artist. She’s in her late 40s now but she’s been at the forefront of globally renowned female artists for a long time.

“We had over 80 students come to see her and listen to her talk, from fine art and illustration to games design and graphic design. It has been a really aspirational experience for them.

“She told them she made her first comic when she was three or four years old. She talked about how she started off, just like them, with small projects and has made mistakes along the way and what lessons she’s learnt. They’ve also met her and chatted to her in person, showing her their sketches.”

Junko also donated a drawing, a pencil version of the artwork she’s produced that is the main piece for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Junko said: “I’ve been a professional artist for over 20 years and so I hope I’ve been able to share some of that with the students.

“I hope to have shown them that they can stay true to themselves, everyone’s different.”

A number of Carlisle College and Lime House School staff and students also attended the event.

After her appearance in Carlisle, Junko attended the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) in Kendal where she took part in a Comics Cultural Exchange.

Junko grew up in Tokyo, Japan, but now lives in San Francisco.

She has achieved international success with many exhibitions, festivals and books featuring her work over her career to date, and has even collaborated with Ikea. Her exhibition runs until Friday, October 25.