Envisioned as the first in a series of interventions that engage monuments in and outside of the United States, New Monuments | Chicago by Brendan Fernandes seeks to challenge the limited historical narratives of conventional monuments and reimagine them as inclusive gathering spaces for diverse representation. Marking Fernandes’ first public intervention, the artist will design a sculptural installation in collaboration with AIM Architecture 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. Taking place after dark, the monument will be illuminated to reveal the dancers’ bodies forming physical expressions of tableaux, incorporating elements of lifting, carrying, and contact improvisation. The performance aims to create a vibrant gathering space that expands narratives of hope for public sites to better reflect the communities they serve. 

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 to illustrate the plurality of voices that make up the City of Chicago. The artist hopes this collective reimagining will be a moment for self-expression, social engagement, and critical dialogue around the history and current state of monuments in Chicago, and beyond.

New Monuments | Chicago will be included in EXPO CHICAGO 2024's IN/SITU Outside program. Fernandes' sculptural installation 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 to collect the community’s responses. The 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. All events, unless otherwise noted, will take place at the General John Alexander Logan Monument in Grant Park (S Michigan Ave & E 9th St, Chicago, IL 60605).

. . .

New Monuments | Chicago is presented by Black Cube Nomadic Art Museum in association with the Chicago Park District. Architectural Intervention by AIM Architecture.

Made possible with generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Chicago Park District, David and Laura Merage Foundation, Project&'s Monuments to Movements, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Special thanks to 21c Museum Hotel Chicago, and to EXPO CHICAGO for including this project in their IN/SITU Outside program.

. . .

Land Acknowledgement, adapted from The Art Institute of Chicago

This project is located on the traditional unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes, such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, and Sac and Fox, also called this area home. The region has long been a center for Indigenous people to gather, trade, and maintain kinship ties. Today, one of the largest urban American Indian communities in the United States resides in Chicago. Members of this community continue to contribute to the life of this city and to celebrate their heritage, practice traditions, and care for the land and waterways.