Black to the Future:
Afr0-Futurism
as Archival Practice
ONLINE LECTURES EVERY TUESDAY
6:30pm - 7:45pm (GMT)
13 September - 4 October
Larry Achiampong, 'PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)', 2022. Commissioned by Art on the Underground. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield, London. Photo: GG Archard, 2022.
Black to the Future: Afr0-Futurism as Archival Practice is a four-week course that considers how identity and Black nation-making are formed by exploring the concept of Afr0-Futurism and Pan Africanism respectively. We will learn about the conceptual and aesthetic practice of Black artists, thinkers and multi-disciplinary practitioners whose ideas of Pan Africanism, speculative fiction, and space and time travel not only critiqued racial oppression but re-imagined equitable societies.
This course is taught by Janine Francois and responds to Larry Achiampong's 2022 Art on the Underground commission, ‘PAN AFRICAN FLAGS FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)’ which re-imagines London Underground’s iconic roundel, for Westminster Underground station.
Lecturer: Janine Francois
Janine Francois is a Black British Feminist, Critic and Writer known for their insightful, critical, but piercing perspectives on race and social justice. Janine’s practices deconstruct whiteness (and race) within cultural and academic institutions through writing, curating/ producing, research, teaching and consultancy.
Janine is also a PhD candidate at the University of Bedfordshire/ Tate, exploring if Tate can be a safer space to discuss issues of race and cultural differences within a teaching and learning context?
Janine’s research is set to complete in December 2023 and is funded by Arts Humanities Research Council. Janine is also 1 of 30 Black Caribbean students funded by AHRC during the periods 2016-to 2019.
Janine’s pronouns are: [they/them/theirs]
Photo courtesy of Fraser HN
Course Outline
Week 1 – Introduction Pan Africanism and Art Making
Larry Achiampong, 'PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)', 2022. Commissioned by Art on the Underground. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield, London. Photo: GG Archard, 2022.
We will understand the history of Pan-Africanism and why Black artists and cultural thinkers were so drawn to it. We will also understand the influence Pan Africanism had on the following 20th-century art movements: Harlem Renaissance, Negritude, Caribbean Arts Movement and the Black Arts Movement and how such movements have shaped contemporary art and cultural practices today.
Week 2 – Afro-Futurism // Speculative Realities \\ 3 Point 0
Artwork guide for Larry Achiampong’s, ‘PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)’, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield, London. Photo: GG Archard, 2022.
We will explore Afro-Futurism as a conceptual, critical and aesthetic practice of Black artists, thinkers and multi-disciplinary practitioners whose ideas of science and speculative fiction, space and time travel critiqued racial oppression. We will take a global and historical perspective to closely ‘read’ the works of Larry Achiampong in preparation for their in-conversation in week three.
Week 3: In Conversation
Larry Achiampong, 'What I Hear I Keep', 2021. Original design commissioned by De La Warr Pavilion. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield, London. Photo: Benedict Johnson, 2022.
Artist Larry Achiampong will join the class for a special conversation. We will be discuss Achiampong's multi-disciplinary artistic practice, gaining a deeper understanding of the themes present in his work. We will also divide into Achiampong's Art on the Underground commissions, including the ‘PAN AFRICAN FLAGS FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)’, which re-imagines London Underground’s iconic roundel for Westminster Underground station.
About Larry Achiampong
Larry Achiampong's solo and collaborative projects employ film, still imagery, aural and visual archives, live performance, objects and sound to explore ideas surrounding class, gender, cross-cultural and digital identity.
With works that examine his communal and personal heritage – in particular, the intersection between Popular culture and the post-colonial position, Achiampong crate-digs the vaults of history. These investigations examine constructions of ‘the self’ by splicing the audible and visual materials of personal and interpersonal archives, offering multiple perspectives that reveal the deeply entrenched inequalities in contemporary society.
Recent projects include commissions with The Line, London; The Liverpool Biennial 2021 and Art on the Underground, roundel designs and a permanent sculptural intervention for Transport for London's Westminster Underground station, London (2019 and 2022).
Week 4 – FESTAC and Pan African Festival Making
Larry Achiampong, 'PAN AFRICAN FLAG FOR THE RELIC TRAVELLERS’ ALLIANCE (UNION)', 2022. Commissioned by Art on the Underground. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield, London. Photo: GG Archard, 2022.
The lecture will look at the overlooked but highly influential cultural event known as FESTAC (the Second Festival of Black Arts and Culture). FESTAC was an impressive festival of arts, music, dance, literature and culture held in Lagos in 1977 which brought together artists from all over Africa and its diaspora. We will also explore other Pan African festivals that took place during the 1960-70s.
