A playful journey through the world of cuteness at the Kunsthal

Something cute doesn't just have to be sweet. It can also touch, surprise or make you think. From 5 July, Kunsthal presents CUTE, an exhibition on the appeal of cuteness. From emojis to anime and Hello Kitty to digital monsters.

The exhibition is not just to look at, it is an experience. Visitors dance to sweet beats in the Hello Kitty disco, step into the world of anime with the installation Glimmer or style their own digital monsters in the game arcade. Fashion designer JimmyPaul designed a festive dress for Miffy's 70th birthday especially for the exhibition. From Japanese kawaii and internet memes to futuristic design, CUTE is a playful journey through the world of cuteness.

More than 50 artists and collectives from around the world explore what cute means in art, pop culture and our everyday lives. Big names like Takashi Murakami, KAWSxCampana, Sejoon Kim, Aya Takano and Mark Leckey show how cuteness touches on themes of identity, technology, gender and nostalgia.

Rotterdam duo Supertoys Supertoys is also represented, not only with their own work, but also with a striking exhibition design.

Cry Baby, Play Together, Monstrous Other, Sugar-Coated Pill and Hypersonic

The exhibition is built around five themes: Cry Baby, Play Together, Monstrous Other, Sugar-Coated Pill and Hypersonic. Each section shows a different side of cuteness, from innocent and comforting to uncomfortable or even disturbing. For instance, Graphic Thought Facility's AI-created cat portraits seem perfect and cuddly, but evoke a strange feeling on longer viewing.

The exhibition also shows where our love of cuteness comes from. It all starts with the first kawaii illustrations by Yumeji Takehisa in early 20th-century Japan. From the 1990s, kawaii culture spread rapidly outside Japan - courtesy of brands like Hello Kitty, manga and anime. This global advance of Japanese cuteness is also known as pink globalisation, and is causing cute to become a fixture in pop culture.

At the same time, kawaii imagery is increasingly being used by artists to address heavier themes. Consider the work of Takashi Murakami and Mike Kelley, whose style - also known as cutism - strikes a balance between cheerful and confrontational. In the 21st century, young creators raised on TikTok, internet memes and digital avatars are putting a new spin on the term cute.