Photo courtesy of the World Chess Hall of Fame
I arrive at the World Chess Hall of Fame expecting to sit down with its chief curator, Shannon Bailey, to talk about the upcoming exhibit, POW! Capturing Superheroes, Comics & Chess (running March 23–September 17). But our interview, much like the exhibit, is interactive.
Bailey leads me to the exhibit space where displays are being hung against bold red, yellow, and blue walls. Where I see blank walls, Bailey envisions a finished exhibit. “Framed chess-themed comic book covers will be on display,” she says. “And comic books with stories about chess will be available to look through.”
The framed comics will also be available on iPads, so visitors can still read the stories. “Marvel has been so generous letting us use items for free,” Bailey says.
We walk into a blue room where an unopened box sits on the floor. “There will be a red couch and superhero-themed books and toys,” she says. “Think of it as a play room.”
The next room will have drafting tables where visitors can create their own comics. The final room in the exhibit will have a green screen where, with help from Good Eye PhotoShare, superheroes come to life with backgrounds and props.
We weave our way through the upstairs office where books about Marvel and DC Comics are stacked and superhero toys line the shelves. Bailey shows me Batman capes and Spiderman masks and explains that some items were already part of their permanent collection. Others are on loan from private collections, and a few items were found on eBay.
Photo courtesy of the World Chess Hall of Fame
“There are 18 limited-edition chess sets that will be on display,” Bailey says. “They’re really incredible.”
We stop in a room where a mockup of the comic book covers fills the wall. “Chess is often used as a metaphor in comic books,” says Bailey. “It’s used to show good versus evil or using people as a pawn.”
I look at the covers and notice villains squaring off over a chessboard, while Archie and his friends have a friendlier match.
The exhibit was inspired by comic books that were already in the World Chess Hall of Fame’s permanent collection and Bailey’s almost-five-year-old-daughter, who is obsessed with superheroes.
“I curate a lot differently since my daughter was born,” she says. “I started putting things in that you can touch.”
POW! Capturing Superheroes, Comics & Chess is the second exhibit at the World Chess Hall of Fame geared towards kids. The first, Kings, Queens, & Castles, was such a success that it is now on tour throughout the United States. Bailey plans to have a “kid-centric exhibit every other year.”
The exhibit may be geared towards kids, but Bailey says, “there are a lot of chess enthusiasts out there.”
“It has art, chess, pop culture, and comics,” she adds. “It’s a show for everyone.”
The World Chess Hall of Fame is open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Tuesday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Wednesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, and noon–5 p.m. Sunday.
