Videoconference : The Future of the African Diaspora

In the 1980s, the arts scene of the African diaspora saw the emergence of Afrofuturism, an aesthetic, literary and cultural movement that combined elements of science fiction with fantasy and magic realism in order to approach themes and questions regarding Africans dispersed throughout the world.

Today on the African continent, there appear to be tendencies toward continuity of this Afrofuturism or toward the generation of new forms of expression whose common characteristic is a utopia of a world without racism.

Through a series of videoconferences linking São Paulo, Johannesburg and New York, cities in three countries with representative Afro-descendant populations and artistic production, the tendencies and the concept of Afrofuturism will be discussed in real time throughout the world, with the participation of local artists and their publics and contexts.

Some of the questions to be approached are: In which ways are the visions of the future of the continent and of the African diaspora elaborated through the language of contemporary art? How do the artists see the future and what are the discussions regarding the future of art? What artistic language can be created in order to address the questions of the future? What influence does the Afrofuturism movement have on the artistic scene today?

Conceived and organized by Goethe-Institut São Paulo | Goethe-Institut Johannesburg | Goethe-Institut New York.

The videoconference will be also featured within the African Futures Festival taking place from 28 – 30 October in Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi.

www.goethe.de