Due to multiple well known factors(like fucking racism, and several other isms) People of Color are not promoted, pushed and raised up in certain forms of art. Unfortunately burlesque has been one of those art forms. Fortunately, not only are there so many talented Black and Brown performers out there, there are a few people who are willing to push and promote them. La Reina and Von(me I’m writing this, lol) are two of those people, and with that intention have created Infinity Hour: A Black Utopian Burlesque and Variety Show. Their show, like #punkblack will feature a cast of POC performers who kick ass and style themselves in the vein of Afrofuturism.
But what the fuck is Afrofuturism? We got chu:
The term “afrofuturism” was coined by Mark Dery in his 1994 essay, “Black to the Future.” In the piece, the term is defined as “speculative fiction that treats African American themes and addresses African American concerns in the context of the twentieth century technoculture—and, more generally, African American signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced future.”
It’s important to note that, although Dery’s definition provided an official name for the work that Black writers and artists were doing within this genre, it does not define the full scope of where afrofuturism has been and where it’s going. A more targeted and expansive definition by multi-hyphenated author Ytasha Womack best describes what afrofuturism is and how it functions.
“Afrofuturism is a way of looking at the future and alternate realities through a Black cultural lens. Black cultural lens means the people of the African continent in addition to the Diaspora, the Americas, Europe, etc. It is an artistic aesthetic, but also a kind of method of self-liberation or self-healing.
It can be part of critical race theory and in other respects its an epistemology as well. It intersects the imagination, technology, Black culture, liberation, and mysticism. An an artistic aesthetic it bridges literature, music, visual arts, film, and dance. As a mode of self-healing and self-liberation, it’s the use of imagination that is most significant because it helps people to transform their circumstances. Imagining oneself in the future creates agency and it’s significant because historically people of African descent were not always incorporated into many of the storylines about the future.”
-https://libguides.pratt.edu/afrofuturism
If that sounds dope to you(how could it not?!!) then you’ll defintiely have a good time at our show July 22nd! It’ll be at the Legendary Allways Lounge, and you’ll 100% wanna be there. To make sure you don’t miss out, grab your tickets HERE.
