Duane Deterville Presents "Afrifuturism"

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October 18, 2017
Duane Deterville Presents "Afrifuturism"

Artist, writer, and scholar of visual culture, Duane Deterville, hosted the Black Unity Center’s event, “The Future Blackwards: Afrifuturism and Black Visual Culture” on October 3rd. The event discussed the emergence of “Afrofuturism” as an idea and the various visual mediums where that notion has surfaced. Afrifuturism is Deterville’s preferred spelling of what culture critic Mark Dery called “Afro-futurism.” Afrifuturism is the creation of speculative futures based in the Black experience and advanced technology. Most people experience this phenomenon through Black science fiction. In a lecture presentation Deterville detailed the origins of Afrifuturism in Pan Africanist ideas and how he extends those ideas into graphic novels/comic books, Detroit techno music, progressive jazz using images from film, video and contemporary artwork in addition to musical recordings. Deterville did both a survey of Afrifuturism and a provocative inquiry on how the idea of Afrifuturism can be used as a tool for Black liberation. The event was definitely a thought provoking one. Look out for more events hosted by the Black Unity Center!