Maybe you’re an aficionado who has poured endlessly over Tolkien symbolism, or just a 90s kid who fondly remembers “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Or, maybe you stumbled on to “Game of Thrones” one day on Netflix and haven’t missed anything since.
Whether it’s an old Disney movie or Dungeons and Dragons, most everyone has a favorite fantasy story. It’s an avenue of pop culture we’re all familiar with, whether we realize it or not.
The latest exhibition at the Experience Music Project Museum (EMP), Fantasy: World of Myth and Magicillustrates the far-reaching scope of the fantasy story throughout recent history. Showcasing artifacts from fantasy films, novels, and television shows, the exhibit looks at the archetypal figures and meticulously constructed worlds that make famous stories timeless.
After over a year of planning, building and designing, the exhibit will open this Saturday. We got a sneak peek of the action and have some photos to share below. Some items, like the featured pages from Tolkien’s original manuscripts, cannot be photographed. Of course, for the aficionados out there, those things may be better left to the naked eye, anyway.