New exhibition celebrates the women of Afrofuturism who continually imagine inclusive, joyful, and luminous futures for Black people while simultaneously addressing present issues and past injustices
Afrofuturism, an artistic and sociopolitical liberation movement, examines the past, questions the present, and reimagines the futures of Black people. Afrofuturism explores the Black experience through a combination of science fiction, magical realism, mythology, history, and technology in genres ranging from literature and music to fashion, film, and visual arts. Long before the term Afrofuturism existed, visionary Black women served as spearheads of the movement, such as Katherine Johnson and other Black female “computers” whose calculations at NASA helped launch rockets and astronauts into space in the 1960s. Author Octavia Butler, the first nationally recognized African American woman science fiction writer, published her novel Patternmaster in 1976, paving the way for a host of Black women speculative fiction writers working today. At the same time, women, such as legendary jazz musician Alice Coltrane explored universal consciousness in the 1970s.
Artwork by Oakland-based filmmaker and artist Celia C. Peters, Boston-based digital artist Nettrice Gaskins, and interdisciplinary artist Alisha B. Wormsley, who created the THERE ARE BLACK PEOPLE IN THE FUTURE billboards, are on view alongside futuristic fashion designs by San Francisco native Afatasi the Artist and artist and professor D. Denenge Duyst-Akpem.
A very special thank you to curatorial consultant Ingrid LaFleur for her assistance with this exhibition.
Visit https://www.sfomuseum.org/exhibitions/women-afrofuturism for more information.
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Women of Afrofuturism is located post-security in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 of the San Francisco International Airport. This exhibition is accessible from May 17, 2025 - September 27, 2026 to ticketed passengers, and through prior arrangement by emailing curator@flysfo.com.