Exhibition guide

What better place than the Musée en Herbe — a fun, joyful and intergenerational place — to celebrate 30 years of Pokémon?

Visit details

  • Dates: From Thursday April 16, 2026 to Thursday December 31, 2026: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • Venue: Musée en herbe, 23, rue de l'Arbre-Sec, Paris
  • Price: Tarifs visite libre de l'exposition PLEIN TARIF : 8€ TARIF RÉDUIT : 7€
  • Audience: Tout public.
  • Source: Event page

About the exhibition

Equipped with a treasure hunt and wearing a Pokémon mask, children (and older children!) begin their visit with a return to the origins of the saga. Direction 1996: birth of a global phenomenon, a veritable Pokémania which, for almost thirty years, has brought together all generations.

The first part of the exhibition unfolds like an immersive time capsule, plunging visitors into the 1990s. There we discover the portrait of its creator, Satoshi Tajiri, the very first Japanese and French cards, preparatory drawings for the cartoon, as well as boosters and vintage goodies that have become cult. Giant Game Boys will even allow you to replay the very first Pokémon games.

The exhibition then explores the profound influence of Japanese culture on the Pokémon universe. Youkai masks, prints and sculptures will dialogue with their equivalents from the game, revealing the close links between folklore, spirituality and contemporary imagination. Visitors will be able to enjoy the similarities between Ludicolo and Kappa, Barbicha and Namazu, or even Tengalice and Tengu.

Nods to the history of art also punctuate the route: Alphonse Mucha, Piet Mondrian, Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh have been subtly diverted by Pokémon card illustrators. Their works will interact with these mischievous creatures in an unexpected play of mirrors.

The exhibition will also highlight contemporary artists who pay homage to Japanese pop culture and the Pokémon universe, highlighting how porous the boundaries between art, video games and popular culture are now. Takashi Murakami is one of the most iconic examples; Jean-Michel Basquiat already paid homage to Gigantor in the early 1980s.

Finally, the tour ends with a selection of works showing how the Pokémon imagination continues to inspire contemporary creation. Daniel Arsham, Katherine Bernhardt, Brusk, Hervé Di Rosa, Erró, David Heo, Thimothée Humbert, Mwoaa, Onemizer and Speedy Graphito offer these legendary characters a new artistic evolution.