*Black Science Fiction Film Festival on February 7th in Atlanta, Georgia. Watch clip below:
*The Alien Bodies: Race, Space and Sex in the African Diaspora Conference will be taking place at Emory University on February 8-9 in Atlanta Georgia. Sadly, I won’t be there, but at least it will be recorded for later viewing. Also, after the conference, there will be a Music from the Mothership: Sonic Event at Emory Dobbs University Center.
*Also on February 8th and 8th at New York University, Get Ready for the Marvelous: Black Surrealism in Dakar, Fort-de-France, Havana, Johannesburg, New York City, Paris, Port-au-Prince Conference will take place. Organized by Adrienne Edwards and presented by Performa Institute, the conference will be about “historical surrealism in the African Diaspora and its relevance to contemporary art today featuring artists Simone Leigh, Paul D. Miller A.K.A. ‘DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid,’ Wangechi Mutu, and Adam Pendleton honoring playwright Adrienne Kennedy. The context-setting keynote address titled ‘Blues People and the Poetic Spirit: Recovering Surrealism’s Revolutionary Politics’ will be given by Robin D.G. Kelley, Gary B. Nash Professor of American History, University of California Los Angeles, and co-editor of Black, Brown, and Beige: Surrealist Writings from Africa and the Diaspora with Franklin Rosemont.
The two-day convening will traverse a medley of dynamic, interrelated themes, including the art of Wifredo Lam; the poetics and politics of Negritude poets Aimé Césaire and Léopold Sédar Senghor; the intersection of dance and ethnography in the work of Maya Deren and Katherine Dunham; theater and politics during the period of decolonization in West Africa; Afro-Futurism and black science fiction; and élan vital and black performance.” It will be from 1pm to 5:30pm with a special breakfast film program from 10am to noon (films: Zetwal, Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti and The First World Festival of Negro Arts) . Click here for more info.
* On the same days in Brooklyn, rapper Blitz the Ambassador will be performing with The Last Poets at The Irondale Center for 651 Arts:
“Come and experience the sound of 1963! Behind every movement, is a soundtrack that mobilizes and inspires the leaders to the soldiers. From Freedom Now to Keep on Pushin, music has always been a reflection of our social landscape.
Join us as we present a millennial response to the year explored through music featuring Blitz The Ambassador, The Last Poets & an 18-piece orchestra. Re-live the classics with new arrangements that were popular a few years prior to the year, during the year and immediately following.” Click here for more info.
Sherese Francis: Futuristically Ancient 