{"id":24489,"date":"2025-02-20T10:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T16:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=24489"},"modified":"2025-02-21T12:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T18:25:07","slug":"discussions-poetry-and-a-film-mark-return-of-afrofuturism-explored-conference-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/20\/discussions-poetry-and-a-film-mark-return-of-afrofuturism-explored-conference-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Discussions, Poetry And Film Analysis Mark Return of ‘Afrofuturism Explored!’ Conference Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The \u201cAfrofuturism Explored!<\/a>\u201d conference returns Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building, Room 453.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second-annual event in honor of Black History Month features panel discussions with students and faculty, keynote speakers, poem recitations and a film screening. It was organized by Dr. Will Connor<\/a>, lecturer in the Performance and Visual Studies<\/a> program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference is open to faculty, students and the community, presented by the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a>; Visual Materials and Performance Cultures section; Media Gaming Lab; Global Languages and Cultures; and the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admission is free; registration is required<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor said guests will explore different angles of Afrofuturism<\/a> \u2014 a term first coined by Mark Dery<\/a> that combines Black culture and science fiction, with a technology-based view of the future through the arts. The concepts are heavily portrayed in Marvel\u2019s \u201cBlack Panther<\/a>\u201d comic books and film series through costumes, design, music and creative choices, Connor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afrofuturism first intrigued Connor while attending the Atlanta Jazz Festival in 1990, where he met the innovative musician Sun Ra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfrofuturism can be emotional,\u201d he said. \u201cIt can be recharging and draining at the same time, but it always has a positive net at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference debuted in 2024<\/a>. This year’s themes are Afrofuturism and Performativity; African Futurism and adjacent art movements; and genres such as Afro-horror and Afro-Cuban Futurism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor invited speakers to present research papers that have a performance studies focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe guests speaking at the conference submitted some really creative works,\u201d he said. \u201cSome will give scientific discussions, but the research is all over the map \u2014 it\u2019s a wide variety, which is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Rita Lucarelli<\/a>, an associate professor of Egyptology at UC Berkeley, was invited as the keynote speaker. Connor said she will discuss her research about the cultural influences in the music of Sun Ra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDr. Lucarelli will talk about how knowledgeable Sun Ra was of ancient Egyptian history,\u201d he said. \u201cShe found a lot of accuracy in how he incorporated Egyptian culture in his music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Reynaldo Anderson<\/a>, an associate professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University, will discuss his book \u201cAfrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin Johnson, a graduate anthropology student, will recite Afrofuturist poems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guests will watch a short film titled \u201cAfronauts<\/a>,\u201d which is about the Zambian space program from the 1970s, Connor said. Dr. Aurore Spiers<\/a>, assistant professor in Performance and Visual Studies, will lead a discussion on the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connor said he is interested in seeing how guests interpret Afrofuturism from a contemporary point of view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Because of Sun Ra and his impact on me, I have a place for Afrofuturism of the past, but it’s not the past anymore,” he said. “I want everyone to realize Afrofuturism is still relevant.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n