“Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures” exhibit opens March 24

By Michelle Richardson, Particular to the AFRO

Have you ever ever wished to see George Clinton’s wig up shut or expertise the facility of the Black Panther swimsuit worn by Chadwick Boseman? The Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition’s latest exhibit makes that attainable with “Afrofuturism: A Historical past of Black Futures,” opening March 24.

In 1990, scholar Mark Dery deemed the time period “Afrofuturism” as an evolving idea expressed by way of a Black cultural lens. Afrofuturism reinterprets and reclaims the previous and current to think about a extra empowering, futuristic African American. Utilizing music, movie, tv, comedian books, trend, literature and theater, Afrofuturism permits the lots to check Black folks of the longer term and even what “Black” might appear to be in alternate worlds and galaxies.

In keeping with a press launch from the museum, the exhibition explores and divulges Afrofuturism’s historic and poignant engagement with African American historical past and well-liked tradition.

“To suppose on Afrofuturism is to think about what the Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition has lengthy been devoted to—that’s, the intense future that Black folks imagined and introduced into being whereas confronting a dangerous current,” mentioned Kevin Younger, the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition. 

“Afrofuturism has additionally lengthy been a mixture of celebration and resistance, musicality and theatricality, achievement and survival. A lot of this mix-making and myth-making was by way of music, from the Negro spirituals right down to jazz and gospel, funk and hip-hop.”

The exhibit is positioned contained in the museum’s Financial institution of America Particular Exhibitions Gallery and can encompass three elements. Within the first half, “The Historical past of Black Futures,” guests can view how these enslaved seemed to the cosmos to check and plot their freedom. 

The second a part of the exhibit, “New Black Futures,” explores Afrofuturism of the fashionable period, introducing guests to the dynamic set of concepts, practices, criticisms and widespread cultural manufacturing associated to Afrofuturism within the twentieth century, main into the current. Guests will have the ability to expertise how Black Individuals navigated technological advances and used artwork, literature, music and movie to confront racism and supply an identification for Black creatives and intellectuals envisioning new futures for African Individuals outdoors the realities of racism and segregated life. 

The exhibition concludes with “Infinite Potentialities,” highlighting Afrofuturism’s connection to notions of house and liberation, expertise, digital activism, Twenty first-century well-liked media and the longer term. On this part, guests will view how Black Individuals have used comics and animation, music, movie and digital expertise to create liberated worlds and landscapes.

Among the many exhibition highlights is Octavia Butler’s typewriter, Vernon Reid’s guitar, Cape and jumpsuit worn by André De Shields from The Wiz on Broadway, Trayvon Martin’s aviation  trainee flight swimsuit from Expertise Aviation, Crimson Starfleet uniform worn by Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Nyoto Uhura on Star Trek, the Black Panther costume worn by Chadwick Boseman and a wig from Parliament-Funkadelic’s George Clinton. The exhibit fills greater than 4,000 sq. ft of house with interactives, paintings and infrequently seen artifacts that examines the historical past of Afrofuturism.

“This exhibition is a means to take a look at how Afrofuturism has been practiced all through historical past and throughout the diaspora, and the methods it’s expressed, traditionally and within the current, by way of artwork, literature and activism,” mentioned curator Kevin Strait. “We hope that guests be taught extra about this matter by seeing the varied ways in which Afrofuturism connects with and influences our well-liked tradition and acquire a broader understanding of Afrofuturism, not merely as a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy, however as half of a bigger custom of Black mental historical past.”Afrofuturism: A Historical past of Black Futures runs till March 2024.