Black Life 2019

Ongoing

Experience the vitality and range of cultural production in the African diaspora through this exciting, multidisciplinary event series.

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  • Levi Maxwell

  • Michelle Wright

  • Ephraim Asili: American Hunger

  • Diamano Coura West African Dance Company

  • Upcoming
    Films
  • Upcoming
    Events
  • Selected
    Objects
  • Past
    Films
  • Past
    Events

Past Events

  • Sunday, November 24, 1:30 PM

    Black Life: Diamano Coura

    Members of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company lead a course in traditional West African song and dance. All ages welcome!

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  • Saturday, October 26, 5 PM

    RESCHEDULED—Black Life: Films by Ephraim Asili

    Writer Ruth Gebreyesus introduces four short films from Ephraim Esili’s Diaspora Suite, built around footage shot in American and international locations—each an important site in the African diaspora.

    BAMPFA

    Rescheduled to November 16

  • Saturday, September 21, 4 PM

    Black Life: Michelle M. Wright

    Wright offers a lecture entitled “Using Time to Represent Blackness,” showing how a “physics of blackness” is necessary for writing accurately and inclusively about black identities.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  • Sunday, August 25, 4 PM

    Black Life: Levi Maxwell

    Maxwell’s lecture explores the impact of African material culture and agrarian knowledge on colonial economies throughout the transatlantic world.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  • Saturday, July 20, 2 PM

    Black Life: Ra Malika Imhotep

    Imhotep presents a performative lecture and writing workshop drawing on Toni Morrison’s essay “The Site of Memory.”

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  • Saturday, June 15, 4 PM

    Black Life: Davia Spain

    Spain presents a new original performance work steeped in Afrofuturist traditions and centered around her forthcoming debut album.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Ryanaustin Dennis and Chika Okoye

  • Sunday May 12, 4 PM

    Black Life: Mai Sennaar’s The Arsonist

    Sennaar’s new theatrical production is the fictional story of a white visual artist and her estranged biracial son, integrating fire science, movement, visual projections, and live music to explore the implications surrounding justice in America today.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Chika Okoye and Ryanaustin Dennis

  • Sunday, April 28, 4 PM

    Black Life: Destiny Muhammad Trio

    Celebrate International Jazz Month with the Destiny Muhammad Trio. Known as the “Harpist from the Hood,” Muhammad has been described by SFJAZZ Center as a “masterful, exploratory musician.”

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Chika Okoye and Ryanaustin Dennis

  • Sunday, March 31, 4 PM

    Black Life: Gabriel Christian

    The artist presents select adaptations from their project riff, composed of entries from their @genderjuicy Instagram feed.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Chika Okoye and Ryanaustin Dennis

  • Saturday, February 23, 7 PM

    Black Life: Amber McZeal

    Experience Afrofuturist mythos through story and song with writer, vocalist, sacred scholar, and activist Amber McZeal.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Chika Okoye and David Brazil

  • Saturday, January 26, 7 PM

    Black Life: We.Here.Now—She Lives

    This performance pursues an inquiry into the complex layers of celebration, grief, tenderness, and untimely loss experienced by the black women and femmes who fight for black power and liberation.

    BAMPFA

    Programmed by Chika Okoye and David Brazil