Los Angeles, CA – Black Speculative Arts Movement is honored to be hosting our traveling afrofuturism and comic book convention at the historical Leimert Park Village in Los Angeles this June. BSAM will be held in multiple spaces at the village, including The Vision Theatre, KAOS Network, and Leimert Park People’s Street. The convention will be not only the official ART WALK for the month of June, but also their offical 7 year anniversary.
Although we mostly focus on afrofuturism at our other events, BSAM L.A. is excited to focus primarily on film. The convention will include MECCAcon International Film Festival, Q&A from multiple filmmakers and actors, workshops, and more. Our main films will be showcased at night at People’s Street park. Please feel free to bring your own chairs. Tickets can be purchased here.
Afrofuturism, astroblackness, afrosurrealism, black comic books, speculative fiction, black cosplay, and social injustice will also be included. There will be many presentations from known scholars, artists, publicists, and professors from across the country.
About Black Speculative Arts Movement
Black Speculative Arts Movement, aka BSAM, is a monthly Afrofuturism, black comics, film, and arts convention held at multiple colleges, universities, museums, and other venues across the United States, Canada, and abroad.
Our annual conventions, co-founded by associate professor and chair of the Humanities department at Harris-Stowe State University, Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, and founder of Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts – MECCA, Maia Crown Williams, will include vending from a vast amount of comics, art, and artisan creators and vendors, live performances, a full international film festival via MECCAcon, seminars, classes, hand on workshops, plays, and much more. Students are also welcome to submit proposals to participate as well.
PARTICIPANTS FOR L.A. INCLUDE:
| Denys Cowan Derek Dow Jackie JJ Stone Carl Jones Erika Alexander Lo! NIkkolas Smith Nalo Haskinson Pochino Press Paul Lewin Underground Resistance (UR) Evita Castine Hannibal Tabu Xavier l Burgin Shawna Mills |
kris ex (Christian Fabien) Eric Dean Seaton Ka’ramuu KushKorstiaan Vandivar Jason Reeves Supersikh Comics Onyi Udeh Yajaira De La Espada Solomon Onita Jr Donnie and Eric Seals w/ Zo! Bobby Huntley Reynaldo Anderson Maia “Crown” Williams Quentin VerCetty Obi Ud |
Ajani Brown Steven Barnes J.O. Bankole Andrew RollinsKeithan Jones Tony Puryear Tanai Walker V.R. McCoy Marqueeda LaStar Myshell Tabu Marcel Williams Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca Javier Hernandezand MORE! |
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE
| MECCAcon INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AFRICAN DRUMMING CIRCLE BLACK SPECULATIVE ARTS MOVEMENT panel MECCAcon IFF ANIMATION panel MECCAcon IFF LIVE ACTION panel CONCRETE PARK presentation UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE presentation AFROFUTURISM & TECHNO workshop THE AFROFUTURIST HUMANITARIAN lecture |
BACK2BLACK: ACCURACY vs ACCEPTANCE IN TODAY’S COMICS panel MEDIA OF THE FUTURE panel BLACK PUBLISHERS panel RED TAILS workshop/ presentation SEARCHING FOR WALTER’S LEGACY lecture ANSCESTRAL MASK FESTIVAL INTERGENERATIONAL WOMEN’S TALK LATINO FUTURISMO panel ARTISTS ON MINING STARDUST FOR THE ANSCESTORS panel |
Afrofuturism and astro blackness have been practiced in our community for years, especially thru literature, visual arts, and music. Artists like Sun Ra, Octavia Butler, Basquiat, Fela Kuti, George Clinton, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Samuel Delaney, Jimi Hendrix, Paschal B. Randolph, Toni Morrison, Amiri Baraka, Tananarive Due, and the ZULU NATION are excellent examples.
Black Speculative Arts Movement is a loose umbrella term represented for different positions or basis of inquiry: Afrofuturism, Astro Blackness, Afro-Surrealism, Ethno Gothic, Black Digital Humanities, Black (Afro-future female or African Centered) Science Fiction, The Black Fantastic, Magical Realism, and The Esoteric. Although these positions may be incompatible in some instances they overlap around the term speculative and design; and interact around the nexus of technology and ethics.
BSAM is a continuation of the historical behavior within the Veil to engage the ideas of Dubois, Wright, Everett and others to pierce the Color Line, the Color Curtain, and understand the Digital Divide in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.
For more information, please contact co-founder, Maia Crown Williams, at BSAMstaff@gmail.com, 3134510297.
Vending spaces are limited.
Official illustration by TheOneWillFocus.
Will Focus is also available for commission.
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