We're excited to announce the 2022 Afrofuturist Weekend taking place October 5th-October 9th. The event is a weekend-long celebration of Black artists making forward-looking work that envisions radically positive futures for Black people. Deploying new technologies, drawing upon history, subverting and inverting exploitative hierarchies, Afrofuturism puts Black people at the center of narratives about the future. There will be performances, visual art installations, video presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and immersive experiences meant to generate a call to action to realize these visions. Join us!
This year we'll have performances from Ben LaMar Gay, our Dark Matter Residents, an Afrofuturist Ball from GoldGrrl and Fabulous Freddy Prodigy, educational experiences, and so much more to be announced soon. Please mark your calendar and stay tuned for more updates. This will be a beautiful weekend not to miss here at Elastic Arts.
Lineups (subject to change!)
Wednesday, October 5th, 6-10p
*OFF SITE* Fourtune House 4410 S. Cottage Grove
$FREE$
6pm - DJ Zola
7pm - olula negre, Ashanti- Owusu-Brafi
7:30pm Panel Discussion on AfroFuturism ft. David Boykin, Makafui Searcy, Cat Mahari and Ashanti Owusu-Brafi. "Whose AfroFuture is it anyway?"
8:30pm - naydja bruton
9pm - DJ Zola
Thursday, October 6th, 8-11p
Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., 2nd Fl.
$15
Elastic Arts Improvised Music/Dark Matter/AfriClassical Futures Series presents:
8:30pm olula negre, Marvin Tate, Cristal Sabbagh
9:30pm We Free Strings (NYC)
Friday, October 7th, 7:30pm-Midnight
Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., 2nd Fl.
$15
Elastic Arts AfroFuturist Weekend
8:15pm Opening Ceremony ft. Sura Dupart and Step Child
8:45pm Cat Mahari w/ ChiBuck Krump & Chicago Chen Taiji
9:30pm Justy
10:00pm AfroFuturist Fashion Ball ft. Co-hosts Fabulous Freddie Prodigy, Michael Kelly, Fatou Wade, Katrina Brook Flores, GoldGrrl, and DJ King GNS
Saturday, October 8th 2-5pm (afternoon)
*OFF SITE* Solidarity Triangle, Kimball & Diversey/Milwaukee, Chicago, IL
$FREE$
2pm GoldGrrl
3pm Naydja Bruton
4-5pm Ben Lamar Gay, Edward Wilkerson, Jr., and Ugochi Nwaogwugwu
Saturday, October 8th, 5:30pm-midnight (evening)
Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., 2nd Fl.
$15
5:00pm Cat Mahari performative dinner party activation
6:30pm Choppin’ Block Electronic Buffet
7:15pm Ashanti Owusu-Brafi
8:00pm Raymond Pinto (NYC)
9:00pm Ben LaMar Ensemble with Special Guest Angel Bat Dawid
11:00pm DJ Oui Ennui After Hours Set
Sunday, October 9th, 2pm - 10pm.
Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave., 2nd Fl.
$15
3pm Angel Bat Dawid and Youth Leaders in Music
3:30pm Taylor, Kwabena Foli Keyword Literature excerpt
4:00pm Kari (spoken word performance)
4:30pm Camila Isabel + Isaiah Horne
5pm Cat Mahari Video Activation
6pm AfriClassical Futures ft. olula negre, Julian Otis, Ashanti Owusu-Brafi, Justy, and Naydja Bruton
7pm AfriClassical Futures Panel w/ Julian Otis
8pm Closeout Celebration Jam w/ Participatory Music Coalition
This engagement is partially supported by the Joyce Foundation, by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, and by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
$15 per day / $35 Three Day Pass (Thursday excluded)
This event is partially funded by the Arts Midwest Fund / NEA.
