Hebru Brantley’s Empowering “Nevermore Park” Inspires Chicago Youth

Spanning nearly 6,000 square feet, visitors at the show can explore a maze-like universe of deteriorating rocket ships, balloon-filled ceilings, and compositions of assorted objects. In one scene, a desk is surrounded by a hodgepodge of old television screens and other dated electronics. In another, patrons will find themselves surrounded on all sides by silvery reflective surfaces. The exhibition also contains elements like a chalkboard wall reading, “We the people dark but equal,” and larger-than-life sculptures of the Brantley’s characters.

Created with a choose your own adventure concept, visitors at the show will have the chance to make their own path through Brantley’s reimagination of black folklore. Made specifically to break boundaries of both race and generation, the exhibition encourages the creative inside all its guests, while addressing complex ideas surrounding hope, power, nostalgia, and childlike wonder.