AFROTOPIA is a curatorial project created and organized by Ingrid LaFleur and produced in partnership with The Carr Center. AFROTOPIA aims to inspire and create space for radical creative practices that bring about positive transformation. Using the contemporary art movement Afrofuturism as a vehicle for social change, AFROTOPIA will activate the city in stages culminating in deep engagement with local communities throughout Detroit.

Coined in 1994, Afrofuturism is a global multi-disciplinary arts movement that re-contextualizes Black history and imagines the future of the African Diaspora using  a wide spectrum of elements that include non-western cosmology, ancient history, technoculture, science fiction, magical realism and fantasy.

Young Futurists Academy: My Metropolis

August 5 – August 16, for 2 weeks

Ages 14 – 18

The Carr Center

Taught by independent curator Ingrid LaFleur, The Young Futurists Academy is intended to expand the imagination and inspire innovation. This new program exposes students to science-fiction, fantasy and magical realism through film, literature, visual art and music. In this class students will strengthen their critical thinking and problem solving skills by conceiving innovative ways to address issues and concerns within society. Encouraging out-of-the-box thinking, each day students will work individually and in groups to create a variety of art projects expressing their speculation about the future of Detroit and their neighborhood.

For more information about the Young Futurist Academy please email ingrid@maisonlafleur.com.