Cosplay

Cosplay

If there were no barriers at all, would you want to have wings? Gorgeous long turquoise hair? Would you be an elf or a knight? A superhero or a historical queen? Cosplay begins with that fundamental question: who do you want to be? Cosplay – a portmanteau of ‘costume’ and ‘play’ – is a subculture in which people dress up as their favourite characters from films, books, games or comics. Design Museum Den Bosch delves deeper into this youth culture with the first large-scale museum exhibition on cosplay in Europe. Featuring dozens of spectacular costumes and an immersive exhibition design by Bart Hess and Grietje Schepers, ‘Cosplay – the exhibition’ is an invitation to step into the imaginative world of this subculture.

Mirror

Cosplay is all about the joy of dressing up, the creative process and being a fan together. But it is much more than that: cosplay is a global youth culture, a commercial success and a subversive and creative pastime. Millions of people worldwide are involved in cosplay. Cosplay is an online and offline testing ground for community spirit and identity, where far more is possible than in the ‘normal world’. Many cosplayers make their own costumes; in this way, they experiment with gender and self-expression through the creative process. At the same time, cosplay plays a major role in political protests. Cosplay also reflects a significant shift in the way younger generations engage with issues such as originality, authenticity and commerce. In this way, cosplay acts as a mirror of our times.

Co-creation

This exhibition was organised entirely in close collaboration with the cosplay community. All the costumes and accessories were loaned by cosplayers, who were actively involved in the development of the exhibition.