Dark forest green sets the tone, less fantasy wallpaper and more quiet invitation. This exhibition treats imagination as a muscle worth stretching, guiding visitors through a contemporary fairytale shaped by 11 artists. Each brings a different lens, pulling identity apart and rebuilding it somewhere between myth and lived experience. The work sidesteps sugary childhood stories in favour of harder lessons: growth that hurts a bit, courage learned slowly, vulnerability shown without apology. Reality slips and daydreams take over, though neither fully wins. Once Upon a Time isn’t interested in neat endings or moral slogans. It works by reminding you of what those stories once gave before they were tidied up and commercialised. Old symbols resurface with fresh weight, carrying memory rather than nostalgia. The result feels reflective rather than escapist, offering a moment to recalibrate and leave with something quietly useful, not just a sense of wonder.
Until March 3. Free. m Galleria 2, mangoSTEEMS Arts and Learning Center, 10am-7pm
