The US’s first large-scale Hello Kitty exhibition is to go on display in Seattle’s Experience Music Project Museum (EMP) in November to celebrate the iconic character’s 40th anniversary.

Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty has been developed by the brand’s parent company Sanrio and the Japanese American National Museum, which held a smaller-scale version of the exhibition in October which more than quintupled visitor numbers in its first month.

The exhibition examines the history of the Hello Kitty brand and its influence on pop culture, using a product-based historical and sociological examination of Hello Kitty with more than 600 rare and unique pieces from Sanrio's archives in addition to an installation of 40 mixed media works by artists from around the world featuring the brand in a multitude of contemporary art.

After the success of the smaller scale version at the Japanese American National Museum, the full exhibit will run from November through to May at EMP before going on a nationwide tour as a temporary spectacle.

"After a successful run at the Japanese American National Museum, we are excited to bring the exhibition to EMP and share the experience with more fans,” said Jill Koch, senior vice president of brand management and marketing at Sanrio. “EMP, whose mission is to reach multigenerational audiences through powerful exhibits and programming focused on contemporary culture, is the perfect home for our retrospective."