Black to the Future: Afr0-Futurism as Archival Practice is a four-week course taught by Janine Francois that 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. The course considered how identity and Black nation-making are formed by exploring the concepts of Afr0-Futurism and Pan Africanism respectively. Participants learnt 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.
The live sessions ran from Tuesday 13 September 2022 – 4 October 2022
Time: 6.30-7:45pm
Free. Online.
Courses were delivered live on Zoom and to create an interactive teaching environment, learning material was provided to registered participants prior to each class. Participants can access the learning platform on the Black Blossom’s website which includes the recordings of the live lectures and learning material for 90 days after the last live class.
For full information on the weekly sessions and to access learning material, please visit Black Blossoms’ website here.
Educator: 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]
