Raised by Wolf Gods: A Hayao Miyazaki Art Show

After a brief hiatus, we’re returning to the 51st Speakeasy for “Raised by Wolf Gods: A Hayao Miyazaki Art Show” this summer. We’ll be celebrating his revolutionary work through art, music, food and other live performances inspired by his films. Miyazaki’s stories, which sometimes deal with the tenuous relationship between nature and human progress, are often whimsical in tone. As a node to the surreal worlds in which his characters inhabit, you can expect thoughtful touches throughout the bar this evening. If all goes as planned, we hope to have micro art installations erected to simulate the experience of walking through an animated wonderland and promote full immersion.

Miyazaki helped found Studio Ghibli, which is opening its own theme park in a few years. Since that won’t happen for a while, and we haven’t been to Disney Land recently, this will be our vision of a theme park. Granted, this will all be taking place inside a 21-and-up bar, so take that with a grain of salt.
For those who can come, an entire city of unique artists will be uniting to bring magic to the bar for one night with James Nghiem and Mike Allen returning to work behind the scenes in support.

FOR ARTISTS (UPDATE: SUBMISSIONS ARE FULL as of Feb. 17)

Our makeshift gallery, as always, will be upstairs. Submissions for this show are now open. Any artist interested, please message James at [email protected]. We will be taking a $10 flat-fee commission for every piece that sells this evening that we will donate to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The rest of the money goes directly to artists so please adjust your prices accordingly if you’re an artist. Submissions must be completed and ready to hang by April 21st, the day before Earth Day. Please use email to contact James. He might be slow getting back but he’ll reply.

For buyers, we accept cash the night of the show. We try to let all pieces hang until at least midnight that evening. After midnight, buyers are allowed to take home their art or arrange meeting times to pick their pieces up.

The gallery itself will be decorated to reflect Miyazaki’s unique sense of style. We have a couple of months to figure out what that entails, but get ready.

FOR MUSIC LOVERS

We’re currently scouring the city for acts that match Studio Ghibli’s level of whimsy. We’ve been talking to a DJ who wants to mix hip-hop with movie instrumentals. We’re currently looking for cinematic-sounding bands or small-scale orchestras.

FOR FOOD LOVERS

Like the food in “Spirited Away” that turned Chihiro Ogino’s parents into pigs, our dishes will be delicious. We’re in talks with the kitchen and bar to see what we can come up with in terms of a special menu for the evening.

FOR COSPLAYERS

Cosplayers are always welcome at our events. What you do is living art that moves around a space, and we love when you come to our shows.

SPECIAL EVENTS

We’re still developing ideas for small secret shows around the bar. We’re currently trying to commission some sort of D.I.Y. ballet for the occasion. There will probably be a comedy show of some sort, maybe involving a Mystery Science Theater-inspired screening of Miyazaki’s Lupin adaptation. We’ll keep you posted on fun stuff as we think them up.

LOOSE ENDS

This will be eighth art show in our series, succeeding “A Night at the Bronze: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Art Show” and “808s and Solid Snake: A Metal Gear/Kanye West Art Show.” The show is free but there will be a $5 suggested donation to enter. This is to help support the show. If you can’t pay that, if can pay some of that or if you would like to pay more, all of that is fine. We just ask that you enjoy the show and support the people who put it on as best you can, so that we can continue putting on shows like this. Again, you must be 21 or older to attend this show due to alcohol laws.


Update: Event Pics Added!