I n this Good Day Chicago feature, reporter Brian Jackson visits Gary, Indiana, to highlight how hometown artist PeQue Brown is inspiring a new generation through art. Partnering with Gary Alumni Pathways to Students (GAPS), Brown leads a citywide billboard project called The Greatness of Gary—celebrating the city’s cultural legacy, creativity, and enduring pride.

Reporter:
What comes to mind when you think of Gary, Indiana? Well, you probably know it as the home of Michael Jackson and as the city that was once a giant in the steel industry. That’s all in the past.

An artist named PeQue Brown is helping the youth of Gary paint the future of his hometown.

PeQue:
My mother always called me, “PeQue,” and in art classes they always say, “Well, you need a moniker.”

Reporter:
PeQue is short for Patrick Quentin.

PeQue:
My father told me early on, “You can’t make any money as an artist, so you might as well get a real job.”

Reporter:
Like many kids who grew up in Gary, PeQue’s dad worked for the mill. Both of his parents were artists but ultimately chose practical professions.

PeQue likes to say, “I didn’t choose art. Art chose me.”

His work has been featured for television shows, films, commercials. And he’s even been commissioned for major pieces like this one of Kamala Harris outside of the United Center.

PeQue has returned home to inspire the next generation of artists from Gary.

PeQue:
Sometimes art tells you what it wants to be. You know, I’ve been doing this for a long time, and sometimes, art just says, “I want to be this.” And you want to do, but it wants to be that. So, you have to let it be what it wants to be.

You can still fix this. This still looks good.

Reporter:
PeQue is partnering with the Gary Alumni Pathways to Students (GAPS) program. They’re creating a citywide billboard installation to celebrate Gary’s cultural legacy, which goes beyond the national headlines.

Student:
It helps to see that no matter where you come from, you can turn into something great. We all gotta start from somewhere.

It’s gonna be like…inspires the most sparks of energy that’s going on. The assignment was to create something new and extraordinary, never felt before.

Reporter:
The project is called the Greatness of Gary.

For someone who sees this piece, what is it that you hope they learn about the city of Gary?

PeQue:
Hopefully, they look at it and recognize that there’s more than just Michael Jackson. We love Michael Jackson, but we want the world to know there’s more than just the Jackson family. Some amazing people have come from here.

Lisa Bennett:
When we’re out in the world and they say, “Where are you from?” And we say, “Gary, Indiana,” they say, “Oh…”

No, no, no. Stop that. Don’t be tricked by the narrative. It’s time for us to tell our own narrative and stop letting people make up their minds about what Gary is or was.

It was important—and it’s important—to bring people like PeQue and others back to the community, because some of these kids want to be artists.

A lot of times, when our parents have struggled with things–or they didn’t have opportunities–they might minimize. They had the best of intentions of loving us and trying to moving to the next level, but sometimes they can squelch your dream and minimize—especially when it comes to arts—because that’s not a practical thing, right?

You need to pay your electric bill. Well, you want to be an artist? Wait a minute—you can doodle over here, but you can get a real job so you can support yourself.

Reporter:
PeQue is proof that it doesn’t matter where you’re from—your passion can produce a paycheck.

Student:
I hope they feel a sense of pride, a sense of ownership. And I hope that it gives them a sense of direction and meaning in life.

I hope this sparks something new in their life, and even if they don’t decide that art is the thing they want to do for life, at least it lets them know the possibilities of being able to do whatever it is that I set my mind to do.

Reporter:
The six Gary natives featured on these billboards across the city are:

• U.S. Representative, Katie Hall, who helped establish the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday

• Gary’s first Black mayor, Richard G. Hatcher

• Current NBA All-Star, Darius Garland

• Astronaut Frank Borman, from the Apollo 8 mission

• White Sox power hitter, Ron Kittle

• And Olympic gymnast, Diane Durham.

You can find this story on fox32chicago.com and on the FOX Local app.