PHOTO COURTESY THE ARTIST
Kapwani Kiwanga (CA)
AFROGALACTICA II: The Black Star Chronicles
The performance series AFROGALACTICA puts Kapwani Kiwanga in the role of an anthropologist from the future, reflecting on Afrofuturism and on its involvement in the development of the future Space Agency of the United States of Africa in 2058. The second chapter of this Afrofuturist performed lecture series, AFROGALACTICA II: The Black Star Chronicles will be performed during the opening of Momentum 9, drawing on archives from the past while projecting a science fictional future. In this work, Kiwanga reflect on the history and future of gender and its effect on the development of intergalactic societies. Cyborgs, gene traders, and the writings of Octavia Butler are all activated to create a space where archive meets its future. Research in archives, anthropology, and literature lies at the heart of Kiwanga’s work. She intentionally confuses truth and fiction in order to unsettle hegemonic narratives and to create spaces in which marginal discourses can flourish.
