Julián: The Exhibition
Cartoon Saloon

Butler Gallery continues its successful partnership with the immensely talented Kilkenny-based and five time Oscar© nominated Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, in an exhibition response to their new animated film Julián by the Academy Award nominated Director Louise Bagnall. The exhibition beautifully highlights the studios use of drawing as the core element in their work.

The film is inspired by the acclaimed children’s novel Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and is a story of discovery and celebration. The wide-eyed Julián spends a summer of discovery in New York City with his Abuela, his grandmother. Nearly strangers, they brace themselves for tense conversations and new adventures. The colourful chaos of Abuela’s world, and the stories she tells him, awakens something within Julián—questions about who he is and who he could be. Julián’s journey will reach across the diaspora, from a Brooklyn block to the depths of the ocean, in an intergenerational ebb and flow. Through Abuela’s world, Julián explores his identity, gender expression, and the hidden heritage of his family.

The exhibition is designed by award winning designer Steven McNamara of Roji. It combines the expertise of Butler Gallery’s exhibition team with Cartoon Saloons worldwide reach and distinctive style to develop an immersive, sensory and child-centred exhibition experience that will captivate audiences of all ages.

https://www.cartoonsaloon.ie/julian/