AfroFuturist Weekend 2026 was a memorable experiment in citywide programming. By moving throughout the city, our residents & artists engaged with different communities around the idea of The Cipher—as word, as image, as sound, as social model. We also want to thank our 2026 Dark Matter Residents: Amari Amai, udochukwu anidobu, Xavi Burgos, Aquil Charlton (AQ), and Nova Zaii whose creative practices guided & informed our programming. We want to thank our community partners & offsite hosts The.BlkRoom in West Garfield Park, Mt. Pisgah in Bronzeville, La Escuelita Bombera di Corazon in Humboldt Park, and Blanc in Bronzeville.
We also want to thank Elastic Arts’ 2026 Visual Gallery Curator Harlem Masimba West who curated a traveling gallery of residents’ work and designed & printed a catalog; Camila Vick, of The.BlkRoom, who began ideation on the festival last spring, and Justy Marivoche-Garnett who staffed a complex multisite event in a first week as Dark Matter Residency Coordinator; AfriClassical Futures co-curators olula negre & Julian Otis; and Dark Matter co-founders Sam Lewis & Jonathan Woods, who curated the festival. And of course, all of the artists you will see in the video below.
Lastly, we want to thank Elastic Arts’ donors: philanthropic partners like Joyce Foundation & Paul Angell Foundation supported specific programmatic pieces of Afrofuturist Weekend, while general operating donors like Driehaus Foundation, Field Foundation, the Reva & David Logan Foundation, Prince Charitable Trusts, Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, and Chicago DCASE support Elastic Arts’ commitment to BIPOC artists & audiences. We also want to thank individual donors to, and members of, Elastic Arts who encourage us to take risks and expand our experimental community.
Please enjoy this video recap!
