This Year's Afrofuturism Conference Is About Going Viral While Black
#BLACKISVIRAL is the subject of 'Afrofuturism Conference 2016' put on by students at The New School in NYC
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Flyer by Inye Nosegbe
This year’s Afrofuturism Conference—happening April 29 to May 1 in New York—will be a series of “art happenings, performances, lectures, panels, workshops, film music, scholarly works, and community events” organized by students from The New School.
<p>Like last year, the conference will explore “Afrofuturism as a cultural and aesthetic movement for the radical emancipation of people of color,” but with a particular focus on virality.</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/afrofuturism-conference-2016-blackisviral-tickets-24551615543" target="_blank">RSVP on their Eventbrite</a>.</p><p>At last year's conference, artists, students and academics came together to discuss designing new narratives to empower the African Diaspora. Check out some of the wonderful images from last year on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AfroFuturism-Conference-781832661866475/photos_stream" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</p><p><div class="preroll-video"></div><ora-player></ora-player></p><p></p><h5><a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/afrofuturism-composite.jpg"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMDM5ODE1Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjg3NDE2OX0.31MzkW11deB_k5I_G29uUE5UPfSeBkrTM6ZcAJgQ5lM/img.jpg?width=980" id="f0341" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b19adb7755053f048c68f4ec57e6efbb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a> Scenes from last year's Afrofuturism Conference. Photos by Jazmin Jones</h5><p>As the organizers put it, this year's conference will “explore the virality of blackness by hacking the cultural divide to explore the matrix of Afrofuturism as a narrative for liberation." The conference will also examine the platforms and products of black content creators online as art, language, and tools of subversion.</p><p>Some of the topics to be discussed:</p><p></p><blockquote>-The Impact of Online Black Subcultures<p>-From URL TO IRL - Futures of Black Movement Making</p><p>-On Hashtags as Creating Virtual Community Space</p><p>-Bioethical Justice in Black Communities</p><p>-The Pros and Perils of Black Hyper Visibility Online</p><p>-Memes as (Coded) Language</p><p>-Commodification of Black Image in the Media</p><p>-Conjuring Black Futures</p><p>-On Exclusivity in the CareFree Black Girl Movement</p><p>-Intergenerational Community Building</p><p>-The State of Black Cinema Post #OscarsSoWhite</p><p>-Futuristic Aesthetics - New Narratives in Media</p><p>-Real Recognize Reel - A Filmmakers Mixer</p><p>-Breaking Down Gender Binaries / Queering Spaces</p><p>-Politics of The Black Body in Viral Dannce</p><p><div class="dfp_atf-slot" data-not-loaded="true"></div><script type="text/javascript">
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</script></p><p>-Speaking in Black Tongues - Linguistics as a Site of Appropriation</p><p>-Cyber Serenity Sessions : Black Alternative Healing Methods</p><p>-Black design/technologies/invention/coding.zip</p></blockquote><p><strong>Confirmed participants as of April 18 include:</strong></p><p><a href="http://ayyokoconfidential.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Ayodamola Tanimowo Okunseinde</a></p><p><a href="http://museummammy.club" target="_blank">Kimberly Drew</a></p><p><a href="http://www.eliserpeterson.com" target="_blank">Elise Peterson</a></p><p><a href="http://www.diamondjsharp.com" target="_blank">Diamond Sharp</a></p><p><a href="http://www.dyanidouze.com" target="_blank">Dyani Douze</a></p><p><a href="http://www.salome.zone" target="_blank">Salome Asega</a></p><p><a href="http://sableelysesmith.com" target="_blank">Sable E. Smith</a></p><p><a href="http://www.devinkenny.info/" target="_blank">Devin Kenny</a></p><p><a href="http://sfbayview.com/2015/09/visual-artist-mahader-tesfai-takes-center-stage-in-the-town/" target="_blank">Mahader Tesfai</a></p><p><a href="http://terencenance.com" target="_blank">Terence Nance</a></p><p><a href="http://www.queensdlight.com" target="_blank">Queens D Light</a></p><p><a href="http://saintheron.com/music/audio-starchild-the-new-romantic-womans-dress/" target="_blank">Starchild</a></p><p><a href="http://www.dyanidouze.com" target="_blank">Dyani Douze</a></p><p><a href="http://www.mukhtarayusuf.com/" target="_blank">Mukhtara Yusuf</a></p><p><a href="https://yattazoker.com" target="_blank">Yatta Zoker</a></p><p><a href="https://vimeo.com/amirahtajdin" target="_blank">Amirah Tajdin</a></p><p><a href="http://tylermitchellfilms.com/#home" target="_blank">JM Harper</a></p><p><a href="http://tylermitchellfilms.com/#home" target="_blank">Tyler Mitchell</a></p><p><a href="http://norvisjunior.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Norvis Jr</span></a></p><p><a href="http://derica.tumblr.com/about"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Derica Shields</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/raw_cooked_cherry"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Caitlin Cherry</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zeba-blay/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zeba Blay</span></a></p><p><a href="http://baltigurls.com"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BALTI Gurls</span></a></p><p><a href="http://thecoalitionzine.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coalition Zine</span></a></p><p><a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/bored-of-art-by-old-white-men-art-hoe-are-a-collective-focussing-exclusively-on-art-by-people-of-colour"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Art Hoe Collective</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.blackgirlmagik.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Black Girl Magik</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.theveryblackproject.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">VERY BLACK Movement</span></a></p><p><a href="http://alp.org"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cleopatra Reynolds of The Audre Lorde Project</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.jamaltlewis.com/nofatsnofemmes/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jamal Lewis</span></a></p><p><a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/topic/aurel-haize-odogbo"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aurel Haize Odogbo</span></a></p><p><a href="http://sincerelytommy.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kai Avant Deleon</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.lfnewyork.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alyssa Neilson</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p><p><a href="http://www.kiara-sharde.com/411"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kiara Sharde</span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.latelyivebeen.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Claire Leana Millar</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/devonraejones/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Devonrae</span></a><a href="http://store.saintheron.com/devonrae-jones-color-block-dress/"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jones</span></a></p><p><a href="http://zunyda.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zunyda</span></a></p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/AFRO-RUTH-COLOR-new.jpg"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xMDM5ODE1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTU4MTc2OH0.M6RhHPXYJ-4QFVP0vefMmUqVumKZHViCDHNc4m0Ci7A/img.jpg?width=980" id="23c8d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c60367d0bb1e10d67b3a1c7cb42d0c8b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"></a></p><p></p><h5>Flyer by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/inyebynature/" target="_blank">Inye Nosegbe</a></h5>
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