Apr 12th 2024

“New Monuments | Chicago” by Brendan Fernandes is a public intervention at Grant Park’s General John Alexander Logan Monument, featuring a sculptural installation, a durational performance, and an interactive community component. Envisioned as the first in a series of interventions that engage monuments in and outside of the United States, this project challenges the limited historical narratives of conventional monuments and reimagines them as inclusive gathering spaces for diverse representation.

“New Monuments | Chicago” will be on view April 10 through 13, with public hours from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily in Black Cube’s shipping container. A performance will take place on the evening of Friday, April 12 from 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. and will be durational, meaning visitors can experience the performance anytime during the three-hour timeframe.

Marking Fernandes’ first public intervention, the artist will design a sculptural installation that surrounds the General John Alexander Logan Monument in Chicago’s Grant Park. Made of scaffolding, this structure symbolically marks the statue as “in transition,” revisiting the complex history of its likeness, General Logan—a nineteenth-century figure who initially worked to prohibit Black people from settling in Illinois, but who later advocated for the abolishment of slavery and supported African American rights.

Fernandes will activate his temporary installation with a durational performance choreographed by the artist that includes light, sound, and a cast of dancers from Chicago’s BIPOC and Queer communities. Also integral to Fernandes’ transformative intervention will be a community prompt that asks audiences to write down their visions for a monument that represents inclusivity on a custom tag. Tags will be available on site during public hours at Black Cube’s shipping container, and will be collected and displayed.

Learn more at https://blackcube.art/new-monuments.

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