An exhibition marking 80 years of The Beano has become the most popular comics exhibition the UK has ever held.
Bash Street’s Back at The McMenace at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum, has drawn more than 80,000 visitors since opening in June.
The exhibition has now entered its final weeks, and is due to close on 21 October.
Beano Studios and The McManus collaborated to create the bespoke exhibition dedicated to the much loved Beano characters and comic. The show has also seen the visitor attraction change their name to ‘The McMenace’. It is now hoped that visitor numbers reach 100k by the time the show comes to the end.
To celebrate the end of the exhibition, a new work has been unveiled, the Minnie Lisa by Duh Vinci.
The current visitor figures beat the previous highest total of 54,324 who visited Comics Unmasked at the British Library in 2014. Visitor numbers also exceed notable exhibitions at The McManus. These include Ten Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian’s Diana and Actaeon and Roman Empire: Power and People.
The Minnie Lisa is rumoured to have been left behind following the smash-hit Duh Vinci exhibition at The McMenace. Curators recently spotted the similarity between the Minnie Lisa and Minnie the Minx and it has now been added to ‘Bash Street’s Back’. Art critics are already arguing it outshines Da Vinci’s most famous piece, The Mona Lisa.
Minnie has also revealed the true origin of the mysterious enigmatic grin.
She said: ‘The artist had me sitting there for ages and I just let one go, silent, but violent…I think I did really well to hold myself to a tiny smirk…’
As well as seeing the ‘Minnie Lisa’, everyone who visits McMenace between now and the closing date of October 21 can enter a prize draw. The winner will be immortalised as a Beano character and introduced to the world on Beano.com. All visitors have to do to enter is share a picture of themselves at the exhibition on social media accompanied with the “bashtag” #McMenace.
Billy Gartley, head of cultural services at Leisure nd Culture Dundee, said: ‘Bash Street’s Back at the McMenace has been hugely popular since opening in June and has drawn audiences across the generations. Its appeal has reached Dundee and beyond, with half of our visitors from the city and half travelling from further afield.
‘The exhibition has focussed on many elements of the Beano from design to production and our learning and engagement teams have ensured that visitors can immerse themselves in the Beano experience. With the opening of V&A Dundee, Tay Country is now even more of a distinct cultural tourism hotspot. I’m sure that visitors will love seeing the fabulous McMenace exhibition and help us reach that special 100,000 visitors.’
Mike Stirling, head of Beano Studios Scotland said: ‘We’re so proud 80,000 visitors have enjoyed the exhibition in Beano’s 80th year. It really goes to emphasise that Dundee is the World Capital of Comics and a true rebel city, embracing Bash Street’s Back as the most popular exhibition ever.
‘It’s great to break yet another record this summer, but we’re not finished quite yet. I had a dream we’d reach 100,000 visitors and now we’re so tantalisingly close we’ve decided to unleash this money-can’t-buy incentive to tempt that last 20,000 people through the door. We can’t wait to meet the winner!’
The exhibition runs until Sunday 21 October. Admission is free, and opening times are: Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm; Sunday 12.30-4.30pm.
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