Creativity In Music, Film, Art And Culture Highlight ‘Afrofuturism Explored!’ Conference
The ideals of Afrofuturism were explored during a two-day conference in honor of Black History Month, including panel discussions, movie screenings and an improvised performance at the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building.
Dr. Will Connor, Performance Studies lecturer and the event organizer, hosted the Feb. 16-17 conference through the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts, the Race and Ethnic Studies Institute, Visual Materials and Performance Cultures section, Black Student Alliance Council and Media Gaming Lab.
The term Afrofuturism was coined by Mark Dery, Connor said. Afrofuturism is a combination of science fiction and Black culture, represented through a technology-based futuristic lens in the arts, Connor said.
The idea for the conference emerged during a meeting with the Black Student Alliance Council, Connor said, when the group asked if there were any events planned for Black History Month.
“I literally jumped out of my seat and said, ‘Afrofuturism!’” Connor recalled. “I think this is an important topic, a fun topic, but it is also something that should really be delved into as well as be exposed and explored.”
The concepts of Afrofuturism are heavily portrayed in Marvel’s “Black Panther” comic books and film series through costumes, design, music and creative choices, which were primary topics during the conference.
The first panel, “General Afrofuturism,” featured Dr. Alain Lawo-Sukam, coordinator of the Africana Studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences, as the chair. He introduced Rebecca Hankins, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, whose “Black to the Future” segment explored Afrofuturism represented in books and comics.
Sofia Hernandez, a geophysics undergraduate student, presented “NASA, Civil Rights and Afrofuturism.” Hernandez, who worked as a mission control host at Johnson Space Center in Houston, discussed space exploration and socioeconomic conditions faced by African Americans during and after the Civil Rights Movement.
Megan Crutcher and Kevin Johnson, who are Ph.D. candidates in the Department of Anthropology, discussed “Black Panther as Anthropology as Poetry.” Crutcher dissected portions in the film that identify anthropological settings in Black history. Johnson read a poem he wrote as an undergraduate, “Listen to the Poets,” which looked at the future for anthropology.
Guests were invited to a screening of Sun Ra’s “Space Is the Place” film in the Black Box Theater. They were also shown a demonstration of Afrofuturist artificial intelligence with Connor, Dr. Matthew Campbell, assistant program director for the Performance Studies program and Jeffrey Morris, professor and music technology program director. Campbell displayed an AI-generated figure on a projection screen in the Black Box Theater, where guests could ask questions about Afrofuturism and hear AI-generated responses.
An improvised performance closed out the first night. Dr. David Donkor, associate professor and graduate program director for Performance Studies, recited poems; Connor played a bongo drum; Morris played electronic music with his computer; Jam Martinez, stage manager for the school, played a saxophone; and students in the Dance Science program performed. Faith Odele, a communications graduate student, also recited a poem and sang.
Saturday’s panel discussions included Afrofuturist graffiti art, contemporary Afrofuturist fiction and Afrofuturism in hip-hop vocals. Abbas Rattani, founder of the visual art company MIPSTERZ, served as the keynote speaker.
Following the opening night reception, Connor said he was enthusiastic about guests leaving the conference with more knowledge on Afrofuturism.
“The idea is: Go experiment,” Connor said. “Go use your knowledge of sound and improvisation to work with other people. Build a community and let that be your forward motion. That is the kind of thinking you see in Afrofuturism. You are experiencing something that hasn’t been done before or told before. It is an unexplored area. It’s a form of science fiction in a way, and it’s a form of community building and a form of expressing solidarity as you move forward.”
Top photo, from left: Dr. David Donkor, Jeffery Morris, Dr. Will Connor and Jam Martinez perform at the Black Box Theater as part of “Afrofuturism Explored!” (Abbey Santoro/Texas A&M University Division of Marketing and Communications)
