By Aaron X. Smith

From the creation of the Liberty Bell in the 1750s to the famous Philadelphia Sound soul music of the 1960s and 1970s, artistic innovation has long been a staple of Philadelphia’s history. Today, the city’s thriving Afrofuturist scene continues this legacy.

“Afrofuturism” is a term coined in the 1990s by American cultural critic Mark Dery. Dery used this label to describe “speculative fiction that deals with African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns within the context of 20th-century techno culture.”

The aesthetic has been popularized over the years by mainstream artists, including film pioneer and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler and Grammy-winning musical artist Missy Elliott.

Author and filmmaker Ytasha L. Womack powerfully articulated the immensity of Afrofuturism in her 2013 book, “Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture.”

“Call it the power of the subconscious or the dominance of a soul-turned-cyber-pop culture,” Womack writes, “but this dance through time travel that Afrofuturists lived for is as much about soul reclamation than jettison into the distant future.”

As an Afrocentric scholar, professor of African American studies, hip-hop artist, and expert on Afrofuturism, I have the opportunity to see first-hand the city’s growing Afrofuturist movement. I have been inspired by Afrofuturist writers and scholars, from science fiction novelist Octavia Butler to fellow Temple University Africology professors Reynaldo Anderson and Molefi Kete Asante.

Here are five local Philadelphia artists whose innovative aesthetics and ideas contribute to the still-emerging field of Afrofuturist art.

Rasheedah Phillips and Camae Ayewa

Rasheedah Phillips, an artist and housing rights attorney, and Camae Ayewa, a poet and musician who plays Moor Mother, attended high school in Philadelphia and graduated from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. In 2015, they founded the collective Black Quantum Futurism, which could be considered the artistic cornerstone of Afrofuturist art in Philadelphia.

Rasheedah Phillips’ latest book will be published in January 2025.

This collective hosts various events and creative projects. On their website, Phillips and Ayewa describe their movement as “a new approach to living and experiencing reality through the manipulation of space-time to glimpse possible futures.” They blend ideas and beliefs from quantum physics and Black and African cultural traditions regarding consciousness, time and space.

Although the Black Quantum Futurism website is less active than in previous years, Phillips and Ayewa continue to organize and participate in Afrofuturist events in Philadelphia and around the world. Phillips has a new book, “Dismantling the Master’s Clock: On Race, Space, and Time,” scheduled for release in early 2025.

Mikel Elam

Although he hails from New York, Afrofuturist figurative painter and visual artist Mikel Elam has become an asset to Philadelphia’s Afrofuturist art scene.

“I have a particular interest in Africa (which is) considered by many anthropologists to be the origin of all life,” he explains. “In many ways, science, spirituality and art are essential to our cultural and mental development. They are more compatible than you might think.

In his pieces, Elam often incorporates cultural masks he has collected during his travels around the world, as well as shiny metal keys. His work on display at Philadelphia International Airport combines the two. The keys are positioned to reflect the flow of people in transit – sometimes they move in harmony and other times in opposite directions. Resolutely optimistic, Elam also surrounds the heads with keys to suggest halos or auras.

“Bliss Consciousness” by Mikel Elam depicts the artist’s meditation practice and his belief that the keys to universal connection come from within. Mikel Elam, CC BY-NC-SA

Serena Saunders

Serena Saunders is a mural artist, Philadelphia native and owner and operator of Passion Art Designs LLC. She transforms the walls of Philadelphia and beyond into futuristic visions of hope, struggle, black joy and justice.

His paintings emphasize the potential for a more peaceful and equitable future. His “Camo” collection includes a painting that displays a map of Africa hovering above a sea of ​​floating colors, including elements of the American flag. The continent appears to be shedding blood into the waters below.

A major component of the Afrofuturist art movement involves reimagining existing symbols related to black culture and life. Saunders’ “Heart” collection incorporates elements of transhumanism — the belief that humans should use technology to enhance our minds and bodies — that are common in Afrofuturist art. Images of the precious organ that pumps blood are merged with pipes, a faucet head and even a grenade.

Saunders’ murals cover dozens of walls around the city, including at the Community Clubhouse at FDR Park, the Boys & Girls Club of Germantown and the Philadelphia International Airport.

Sun Ra

Avant-garde jazz musician Sun Ra is an Afrofuturist icon who lived in Philadelphia for 25 years. Leni Sinclair via Getty Images

One of the greatest avant-garde jazz musicians of the 20th century, Sun Ra is also an Afrofuturist icon who once occupied a modest Philadelphia rowhouse at 5626 Morton St. in Germantown.

Sun Ra led the jazz group Sun Ra Arkestra from the late 1950s until his death in 1993 at the age of 79. With songs such as “Love in Outer Space,” “Door of the Cosmos,” “Saturn,” and “UFO,” Sun Ra has kept intergalactic reimaginings of life and love at the forefront of his creative expression. From his sumptuous futuristic outfits to “Astro Black” astrological symbolism, he remains a significant pioneer of Afrofuturist art.

In 2022, the house where he and his bandmates lived and rehearsed was designated a historic landmark. Although it is not open to the public, it is a reminder of the creative and resilient spirit that often resides in humble, unassuming environments, and why we can think of Philadelphia, the city known as the birthplace of the United States, also like the city of tomorrow.

Aaron X. Smith is an assistant professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University.

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