Afrofuturist exhibitions showcase a celebration of the African American identity, past and present

By Lily Hoffman Strickler ’24

Staff Writer

Over the past several years, the art world has seen a significant increase in exhibits exploring the amalgamation of both past and present representations of the Black identity. According to a 2021 Axios article written by Russell Contreras, many of these include escapist art pieces that center around themes of science fiction and fantasy, also known as Afrofuturism. From banners to dresses made of paper and Swarovski crystals to multi-colored quilts, Lauren Halsey, Fabiola Jean-Louis and Bisa Butler have been steadily making an impact on the art scene through their work across various mediums. These three Black female artists all have a vision of African American identities through both past and contemporary lenses: a vision they aim to share with the world.


“The Banner Project: Lauren Halsey” 

Museum of Fine Arts; Boston

In the Linde Family Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, you can find large-scale banners depicting an eclectic blend of Ancient Egyptian and 1970s funk imagery. These banners, a product of artist Lauren Halsey’s creative approach to visual art, serve to “celebrate and protect Black life,” according to the museum’s website. Inspired by the Afrofuturist artistic movement, Halsey’s work contains imagery of ancient Egypt and Nubia, selected from the museum’s own art collections, juxtaposed with themes of Black American culture, presented in a psychedelic style with interspersed hints of modernity. 

Halsey, born in Los Angeles, California, creates these banners to examine the beauty of African American culture and history, both within her own community in Los Angeles and outside. 

“I want to compel dreaming, new aspirations, proposals for the future,” Halsey wrote in her artist statement on the museum website. Halsey hopes that the spaces she aims to create for Black people through her work will be “actually functional in a neighborhood as habitats,” rather than centralized within the walls of a museum installation. Her work serves as a representation of her vision for how African American identities and spaces could mold and grow in the future. 

    Visit https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/the-banner-project-lauren-halsey to learn more. 




“Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room”

Metropolitan Museum of Art; New York City

In her work, Fabiola Jean-Louis also celebrates and explores African American identity. A self-described “multifaceted artist,” Jean-Louis creates pieces through the application of many different mediums to explore and inform viewers about the intersectionality of the African American experience, both through a fantastical and Afrofuturistic lens. Famous for her work in paper textiles and sculptures, photography and paintings, Jean-Louis made a name for herself as the first female Haitian artist featured in a long-term exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 

    More about this exhibit, including information about purchasing tickets, can be found by visiting https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2021/afrofuturist-period-room


“The Dirty South” & “Rituals of Resilience”

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston & Minneapolis Museum of Art 

Contemporary fiber artist Bisa Butler’s work was displayed in the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in 2019, during which her quilt titled “Broom Jumpers” came into the museum’s possession, seemingly catching the attention of students and faculty alike through its bright color and tedious detailing. 

“I usually start doing … a month of just research, looking online, looking in public databases for images that strike me,” Butler told Associate Curator Stephanie Sparling Williams during a discussion about her process of making quilts in March 2020. Butler’s work focuses on allusions to and retellings of more subtle and obscure aspects of Black history, as well as explorations into her own past, the subjects of her work being both personal and historical figures. Her highly saturated and jewel-tone quilts make for an eye-catching examination of both the past and present beauty of the African American identity. 

Butler currently has two exhibitions on display. To learn more, visit https://camh.org/event/dirty-south/ and https://new.artsmia.org/exhibition/rituals-of-resilience