From the creation of the Liberty Bell in the 1750s to the world-famous Philadelphia Sound soul music of the 1960s and ’70s, artistic innovation has long been a staple in Philly history. Today, the city’s thriving Afrofuturist scene is continuing this legacy.
“Afrofuturism” is a term coined in the 1990s by American cultural critic Mark Dery. Dery used the label to describe “speculative fiction that treats African American themes and addresses African American concerns in the context of 20th-century techno culture.”
“Call it the power of the subconscious or the predominance of soul culture gone cyber pop,” Womack writes, “but this dance through time travel that Afrofuturists lived for is as much about soul retrieval as it is about jettisoning into the far-off future.”
Here are five local Philly artists whose innovative aesthetics and ideas are contributing to the still-emerging field of Afrofuturistic art.
Rasheedah Phillips and Camae Ayewa
Rasheedah Phillips, an artist and housings rights attorney, and Camae Ayewa, a poet and musician who performs as Moor Mother, attended high school in Philadelphia and graduated from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University. In 2015 they founded the Black Quantum Futurism collective, which could be considered the artistic cornerstone of Afrofuturist art in Philadelphia.
From the creation of the Liberty Bell in the 1750s to the world-famous Philadelphia Sound soul music of the 1960s and ’70s, artistic innovation has long been a staple in Philly history. Today, the city’s thriving Afrofuturist scene is continuing this legacy.
“Afrofuturism” is a term coined in the 1990s by American cultural critic Mark Dery. Dery used the label to describe “speculative fiction that treats African American themes and addresses African American concerns in the context of 20th-century techno culture.”