Antawan Byrd
Research Project
Panafrica: Histories, Aesthetics, Politics
Project Team:
2021 – 2025
Kerry James Marshall, Africa Restored (Cheryl As Cleopatra), 2003. Courtesy of the artist.
Key Question
Why is Pan-Africanism so elusive? Its appeal seems always to be fading in one place while ascending elsewhere.
Project Summary
| A series of discussions will explore the links between Pan-African politics and cultural production. |
In the view of this project’s leaders, Pan-Africanism articulates a universality comparable in its reach to Marxism. It has guided independence movements and anticolonial struggles in dozens of countries around the world where the majority of inhabitants are of African descent; it has shaped the terms of advocacy and protest in many more countries where they are not. Pan-Africanism has been as influential for intellectual history as psychoanalysis or post-structuralism, and it has lent heft to such internationally popular artistic and religious forms as reggae, Nollywood movies, and Candomblé. Yet Pan-Africanism is elusive in its manifold meanings; its appeal seems, moreover, always to be fading in one place while ascending elsewhere. Above all, Pan-Africanism is predominantly understood as a political movement—a call for equality, self-determination, and solidarity among Black peoples. What is the relation of that political cause to cultural production and to the humanities? This project will hold a series of seven convenings structured to explore a given location and private or institutional archives held there. The first will take place in Chicago and the rest will follow in a variety of international destinations. This interdisciplinary undertaking is conceived as an indispensable complement to a major loan exhibition on Pan-Africanist art and culture planned as the Art Institute of Chicago’s premier exhibition for fall 2024.
Research Team
Adom Getachew
Elvira Dyangani Ose
Elvira Dyangani Ose
Director, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Lecturer in Visual Cultures
Goldsmiths, University of London
Matthew Witkovsky
Matthew Witkovsky
Richard and Ellen Sandor Chair and Curator of Photography and Media
Art Institute of Chicago
Project Narrative
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Global Transmissions
Global Transmissions
Delinda Collier's feature in the May 2025 issue of Artforum takes a close look at Project a Black Planet at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Panafrica Days Reception for Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar
Reception
Panafrica Days Reception for Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar
This reception celebrated the work of Betye Saar was presented as part of Panafrica Days.
Panafrica Days Symposium
Symposium
Panafrica Days Symposium
A daylong series of discussions centered on the ideas and artists featured in the "Project a Black Planet" exhibition at the Art Institute.
Panafrica Across Chicago Citywide Art Project Lets Chicagoans Explore
Panafrica Across Chicago Citywide Art Project Lets Chicagoans Explore
Block Club Chicago's preview of 'Panafrica Across Chicago' features Neubauer Collegium research and exhibition.
UChicago Center Brings Scholarship to the Public
UChicago Center Brings Scholarship to the Public
Ten years ago, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society opened its doors on a bustling corner connecting the University of Chicago campus and the historic Hyde Park neighborhood. For the past ...
Project a Black Planet Exhibition Opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
Project a Black Planet Exhibition Opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
The exhibition, curated by the Panafrica research team, features 350 objects spanning the 1920s to the present.
New Exhibition Examines Betye Saar's Early Work in Design
New Exhibition Examines Betye Saar's Early Work in Design
The Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society is pleased to present Let’s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar, on view January 30 through April 27, 2025. The exhibition offers the first ...
Common Destiny: A Review of Mascon
Common Destiny: A Review of Mascon
Newcity Art calls Mascon "a moving tribute to African film and culture."
Otolith Group: Opening Reception
Exhibition Opening
Otolith Group: Opening Reception
The London-based collective presented Mascon, a mosaic of images and sounds inspired by African cinema.
Otolith Group Exhibition Explores Legacy of Pan-African Cinema
Otolith Group Exhibition Explores Legacy of Pan-African Cinema
In the fall of 2024, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society will present a new moving-image work by the Otolith Group titled Mascon: A Massive Concentration of Black Experiential Energy. The ...
Preview: Projections of Panafrica
Film Screening
Preview: Projections of Panafrica
This event included a screening of Sarah Maldoror's short film Monangambééé (1968) and a listening session with DJ Rae Chardonnay.
The New Black Internationalism
The New Black Internationalism
In a critical essay for Dissent, Faculty Fellow Adom Getachew explores the ways the Movement for Black Lives has drawn on the legacy of black internationalism to link anti-imperial forces around the ...
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Global Transmissions
Global Transmissions
Delinda Collier's feature in the May 2025 issue of Artforum takes a close look at Project a Black Planet at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Panafrica Across Chicago Citywide Art Project Lets Chicagoans Explore
Panafrica Across Chicago Citywide Art Project Lets Chicagoans Explore
Block Club Chicago's preview of 'Panafrica Across Chicago' features Neubauer Collegium research and exhibition.
UChicago Center Brings Scholarship to the Public
UChicago Center Brings Scholarship to the Public
Ten years ago, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society opened its doors on a bustling corner connecting the University of Chicago campus and the historic Hyde Park neighborhood. For the past ...
The New Black Internationalism
The New Black Internationalism
In a critical essay for Dissent, Faculty Fellow Adom Getachew explores the ways the Movement for Black Lives has drawn on the legacy of black internationalism to link anti-imperial forces around the ...
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Panafrica Days Reception for Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar
Reception
Panafrica Days Reception for Let's Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar
This reception celebrated the work of Betye Saar was presented as part of Panafrica Days.
Project a Black Planet Exhibition Opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
Project a Black Planet Exhibition Opens at the Art Institute of Chicago
The exhibition, curated by the Panafrica research team, features 350 objects spanning the 1920s to the present.
New Exhibition Examines Betye Saar's Early Work in Design
New Exhibition Examines Betye Saar's Early Work in Design
The Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society is pleased to present Let’s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar, on view January 30 through April 27, 2025. The exhibition offers the first ...
Otolith Group Exhibition Explores Legacy of Pan-African Cinema
Otolith Group Exhibition Explores Legacy of Pan-African Cinema
In the fall of 2024, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society will present a new moving-image work by the Otolith Group titled Mascon: A Massive Concentration of Black Experiential Energy. The ...
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Panafrica Days Symposium
Symposium
Panafrica Days Symposium
A daylong series of discussions centered on the ideas and artists featured in the "Project a Black Planet" exhibition at the Art Institute.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Common Destiny: A Review of Mascon
Common Destiny: A Review of Mascon
Newcity Art calls Mascon "a moving tribute to African film and culture."
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Otolith Group: Opening Reception
Exhibition Opening
Otolith Group: Opening Reception
The London-based collective presented Mascon, a mosaic of images and sounds inspired by African cinema.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Preview: Projections of Panafrica
Film Screening
Preview: Projections of Panafrica
This event included a screening of Sarah Maldoror's short film Monangambééé (1968) and a listening session with DJ Rae Chardonnay.
Reading List
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