When you have a predominantly Black city like Detroit colliding with the wider African diaspora, a kind of new synergy is bound to happen. Enter: AfroFuture Detroit.
On Aug. 16 and 17, the aptly named AfroFuture Detroit will land at Bedrock’s Douglass Site, located at the corner of Alfred Street and Beaubien Boulevard.
If Afrofuturism’s mantra is a proclamation of a future inhabited by Black folk writ large, then AfroFuture Detroit takes the veritable idea from page to screen — a “live action” event filled with music, song, dance, and culture. From techno sounds to the taste of the African continent and beyond, AfroFuture Detroit aims to be a sensory experience.
Started in 2017, Afrochella, billed as “a premier cultural platform dedicated to celebrating the beauty, creativity, and innovation of Africa and its diaspora” was recently rebranded as AfroFuture. AfroFuture highlights Black music, art, fashion, and cuisine from around the world. It started in Accra, Ghana, and later reached across the globe, this time, with its Detroit premiere. AfroFuture CEO and co-founder Abdul Karim Abdullah boils the festival down to what he considers “four [distinct] pillars.”
“So the four pillars of AfroFuture for us is really around music, around food, around art, around fashion,” Abdullah says. “I think they all kind of come together to create a feeling that I would describe as culture, or the AfroFuture feeling. You know that experience in Ghana or in South Africa, it feels different depending on where you are, but it still feels the same, right? You know? I don’t know how to explain it. It kind of appears different in South Africa than it does in Detroit, than it does in L.A., but it’s all within the same family of feelings is basically what I’m trying to say.”
With Bedrock as a partner for the event, the idea seemed perfectly timed as Detroit continues to build on its cultural legacy through sports, entertainment, and even real estate. A rise in Detroit’s population as recently reported by local (and national) media outlets, means more visibility for the city. Abdullah is eager to be a part of the buzz, and by extension, a part of Detroit’s history.
“Detroit makes sense for us because obviously Detroit is the birthplace of a lot of amazing music, a place with rich history and culture,” Abdullah says. “You know, a place that has the warmness of the South, but like the goodness of New York City? There’s so much that you can identify with it. I think it’s very important for us to bring our energy, and the type of things that we’re doing, (and) expand it to Detroit.”
Expect this expansion to include some spirit-lifting vibes, art installations, and some fun surprises. Sponsored by Bedrock in partnership with AfroFuture and produced by Detroit-based Paxahau, the inaugural U.S. event will feature headliners such as Afrobeats superstars Asake and Davido, Kaytranada, Brazilian queen Ludmilla, Detroit’s own Tee Grizzley, and others.
You can also imagine it, Abdullah adds, as a “big block party” where people can eat, buy clothes, and support Black businesses, even Black artists. He views it as a kind of pipeline between the African continent and the States. In a way that “tells stories about Black people in African culture.”
Abdullah, a Black American, with African immigrant parents, understands how to bridge the two worlds of Black America and the Black diaspora — through surprising cultural connections. Although his degrees are in psychology, biology, and public health, Abdullah finds his personal artistic expression through cooking. In fact, cooking is a metaphor for the grand experiment of AfroFuture Detroit’s mandate: community and collaboration.
“How do you bring people together?” he says. “For me, I love cooking for my family. I love cooking for my friends. I love cooking for my staff. Just kind of bonding over that experience is very, very important … So this (festival) is a learning opportunity for us to meet each other in a space where we can learn together, enjoy a new culture together.”
For ticket information, and an update on scheduled performances, visit detroit.AfroFuture.com. Plus, find even more community news and things to do at hourdetroit.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
