For those of us in the US who’ve always dreamed of a Sanrio theme park, the Japanese toy company has finally heard our plea. Small Gift is a traveling art exhibit, playground, marketplace, and big-top, all in one, celebrating Sanrio’s 50-year legacy as the connoisseur of kawaii. The purveyor of pop culture has been home to such characters as Hello Kitty, Chococat, Badtz-maru, My Melody, and dozens of others. Now, the childhood (and adulthood) icons are coming to life at full-scale, carnival-style extravaganzas in Los Angeles and Miami, with Sanrio shops surfacing between. The only negative is that the pop-up fun-fair isn’t sticking around.
Click through below for Sanrio-inspired art from Luke Chueh, Gary Baseman, kozyndan, and others.
Courtesy Luke Chueh and Sanrio
Courtesy Camilla d’Errico and Sanrio
Courtesy Brandi Milne and Sanrio
Courtesy Gary Baseman and Sanrio
Courtesy Eric Joyner and Sanrio
Courtesy Joe Ledbetter and Sanrio
Courtesy Buff Monster and Sanrio
