WARREN, Ohio – The public will get its first taste of what the proposed Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts will offer at an exhibition that will open this month.
The exhibition, “Sci-Fi + Hollywood: The Art of John Zabrucky,” will feature about 40 movie props, drawings and other items. Each was created by Zabrucky’s California-based company, Modern Props, which designed and built many futuristic devices used in sci-fi movies and television series.
The exhibition will open Jan. 24 at the Medici Museum of Art, 9350 E. Market St., Howland, and run through June 28. Admission is free.
The Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts is slated to open in 2028 at 410 Main Ave. SW, in downtown Warren. The four-story building will house hundreds of movie props created by Zabrucky, who is a Warren native and a 1965 graduate of Harding High School, and related items.
A fundraising campaign is currently being developed for the project, estimated to cost approximately $20 million, according to Meghan Reed, executive director of the Trumbull County Historical Society. The TCHS will own and operate the museum.
Zabrucky is expected to attend some events in conjunction with the Medici exhibit, although the wildfires in Los Angeles, where he lives, might affect his plans, Reed said.
Zabrucky’s props helped shape the look of science fiction and fantasy as presented by Hollywood.
The exhibit at the Medici will feature his artwork and original sketches, concept art and props from some of the most beloved sci-fi and fantasy films and television series.
Visitors will get an up-close look at the artistry and imagination inherent in the props that brought so many sci-fi stories to life, Reed said.
The exhibition will feature a small but significant sampling of the 500-piece prop collection that Zabrucky has donated to the Trumbull County Historical Society.
The pieces will be “crowd pleasers,” Reed said, and the exhibition will mark the first time they are being displayed to the public.
The list of items in the Medici exhibition will include:
- The “Most Important Device in the Universe,” a room-size futuristic installation that appeared in “Star Trek” and other films. “It’s the most-shown sci-fi prop in all films, according to the Guinness Book of World Records,” Reed said. “It has appeared in over 200 movies and shows.”
- Capt. Kirk’s communicator from the original “Star Trek.”
- Firearms from “Men in Black.”
- Egg chairs from “Men in Black.”
- Gadgets from “Blade Runner,” “Ghost Busters,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Total Recall” and other films.
“It will highlight the shows [Zabrucky] worked on, but there will also be a section on designing for the future – everyday objects he designed with a futuristic spin,” Reed said. “There’s a dog house with television screens, for example.”
Katelyn Amendolara-Russo, director of the Medici, said the museum’s modern architecture makes it “a perfect backdrop” for the Zabrucky exhibition.
“The fusion of modern artistic expression with the imaginative world of science fiction allows visitors to experience these iconic props and settings in a new and exciting way,” she said in a press release.
After its run at the Medici ends, the exhibit will go on the road as a traveling exhibition, making it a fundraising source for the historical society. The TCHS will pitch the exhibit to other museums nationwide, who can book it for a fee.
“It’s the first stop in a larger traveling show that we’re hoping to do [to help fund the] buildout of the museum in Warren,” Reed said.
Other progress is being made to bring the sci-fi museum to fruition, although it might not be apparent to the public.
The TCHS hired an architectural firm and an exhibit designer last year, and it is currently assembling a committee that will launch a fundraising campaign, Reed said.
“There’s been a lot of progress, but behind the scenes,” she said. “The pieces are falling into place, but the public won’t see it for a while.”
In conjunction with the “Sci-Fi + Hollywood” exhibition, the Medici will also unveil “Alex Garant: Mirages” on Jan. 28.
This exhibit will showcase the work of Canadian artist Alex Garant, whose unique style is characterized by hypnotic, multi-eyed portraits.
Both exhibits have been curated by Alex Jesko, curator of the Medici.
Pictured at top: Meghan Reed, executive director of the Trumbull County Historical Society, sits in an egg chair from the movie “Men in Black.” The chair will be part of an exhibition of pieces from the Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts.