Black Speculative Arts Movemen, aka BsaM, is an annual Afrofuturism, black comics, and arts convention held at multiple colleges, universities, and museums thruought the United States.
Our annual conventions, co-founded by associate professor and chair of the Humanities department at Harris-Stowe State University, Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, and founder of Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA, Maia Crown Williams, will include vending from a vast amount of comics, art, and artisan creators and vendors, live performances, a full international film festival via MECCAcon, seminars, classes, hand on workshops, plays, and much more. Students are also welcome to submit proposals to participate as well.
BSAM St Louis 2017 #BSAMstl2017:: UNIFIED RESISTANCE
***** Official Schedule *****
Friday, March 17 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER
10am YOUTH COMICS Workshop- Tim Fielder 10am YOUTH POETRY Workshop- InnerGy 10am SOCIAL JUSTICE- Amber Johnson, Attorney Amy Breihan
11am CREATIVE WRITING Workshop- Gregory S. Carr, Jason Vassar 11am COMICS AND LITERACY- Sharnez Givens & Guests
Lunch and Networking at 12-1pm
1pm ART GRANTS Workshop - Jason Vassar
1pm-2:30pm DISPATCHES OVER FLY OVER COUNTRY, The Legacy of Darren Seals, and the Purple Revolution- Sarah Kendzior, Reynaldo Anderson, Andrew Rollins, Nyota Uhura. Moderated by Sudarsen Kant @Emerson Theatre
3pm MECCAcon Film Festival w/ Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts - MECCA
6-8pm EMERSON PERFORMANCE CENTER
CONSCIOUS CONVERSATION- Gabbi Burks
LIVE ARTS EXHIBITION- InnerGy
Saturday, March 18 EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
11am New Afrikan ECONOMICS AND THE DEEP STATE- Andrew Rollins, Johnson Lancaster 11am LABOR, ARTS, AND ACTIVISM- NEA, Greg Carr
12pm Poetry Writing Workshop- Dr. Joy Davis and Bryce Davis
Lunch and Networking at 12-1pm
1pm Beyonce “Lemonade” workshop w/ Kinitra Brooks 1pm Digital Humanities w/ Toneisha Taylor 1pm African Drumming Class- NGOMA
2pm The Artrepreneur: Starting your own Biz- Volunteer lawyers and Accts. For the Arts 2pm Back2Black Panel- Damian Duffy, Tim Fielder, Stacey Robinson, Sharnez Givens, moderated by Maia Crown Williams
3-4pm Drawing My African Voice w/ Sarah Blair
3pm-4pm Afrofuturism the 2nd Wave: The Black Speculative Arts Movement w/ Reynaldo Anderson, Amber Johnson, Kinitra Brooks, Toneisha Taylor)
3pm MECCAcon Film Festival
7pm EMERSON PERFORMANCE CENTER Play: Aunt Jo Mama- Greg Carr WORD UP poetry Concert (TBD)
Afrofuturism and astro blackness have been practiced in our community for years, especially thru literature, visual arts, and music. Artists like Sun Ra, Octavia Butler, Basquiat, Fela Kuti, George Clinton, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane, Samuel Delaney, Jimi Hendrix, Paschal B. Randolph, Toni Morrison, Amiri Baraka, Tananarive Due, and the ZULU NATION are excellent examples.
Black Speculative Arts Movement is a loose umbrella term represented for different positions or basis of inquiry: Afrofuturism, Astro Blackness, Afro-Surrealism, Ethno Gothic, Black Digital Humanities, Black (Afro-future female or African Centered) Science Fiction, The Black Fantastic, Magical Realism, and The Esoteric. Although these positions may be incompatible in some instances they overlap around the term speculative and design; and interact around the nexus of technology and ethics.
BSAM is a continuation of the historical behavior within the Veil to engage the ideas of Dubois, Wright, Everett and others to pierce the Color Line, the Color Curtain, and understand the Digital Divide in the face of the challenges of the 21st century.
If interested in purchasing a vending table, performing, exhibiting, paneling, holding a workshop, volunteering, serving as press, etc, please contact co-founder, Maia Crown Williams at BSAMstaff@gmail.com, 3134510297.
