Black Quantum Futurism (BQF) is a literary and artistic collective composed of Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) and Rasheedah Phillips. The pair are both queer Black women based in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It is also a name for the set of Afrofuturist theoretical frameworks and methodologies proposed by the collective.

Artistic philosophy

The collective has published a book, ''Black Quantum Futurism: Theory & Practice (Volume 1)'' which proposes "a new approach to living and experiencing reality by way of the manipulation of space-time in order to see into possible futures, and/or collapse space-time into a desired future in order to bring about that future’s reality." The book argues that

quantum mechanical Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is the foundation of a ...

interpretations of

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

spacetime In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualiz ...

, causality, and interactions are more in agreement with Afrocentric understandings of these same phenomena than with

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

ones, and that methodologies which merge these ideas will be able to counter

Eurocentric Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) refers to viewing the West as the center of world events or superior to other cultures. The exact scope of Eurocentrism varies from the entire Western world to just the continent of Euro ...

colonialist Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

structures and conceptions of reality. BQF's work centers the subjective and cultural nature of time itself, and its material impact as a tool for both the oppression and the survival and liberation of Black people and communities. They claim that

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was the belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American pioneer, American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, and that this belief was both obvious ("''m ...

and westward expansion were as much about time as space; a laying claim not just to the land but to the future and who determines it. For Phillips, who also works as a housing attorney at Community Legal Services, eviction serves as yet another way to cut Black people off from their future, especially in a city where 70% of evictees are Black women. However, in contrast to the ways that Western systems of power attempt to deprive certain communities of their place in a linear future, BQF draws on indigenous African cultural understandings of time from across the Continent and the diaspora to explore cyclical and interactive notions of time that link together the past, present, and future. The music of Moor Mother (Ayewa's solo musical project) applies BQF methodologies to musical composition and electronic noise manipulation.

Projects and awards

In June 2016, the founders of BQF opened the Community Futures Lab, an "afrofuturist community center" in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

where they lead workshops and teach-ins, provide space for artistic practice, and fight gentrification in the area. In the face of increasing displacement caused by gentrification, they invite community members not only to record stories and histories, but also to imagine possible futures for the neighborhood, and to record those as well. In September 2017, in collaboration with Icebox Project Space, BQF created a two-day program and interactive exhibit titled Time Camp 001, "exploring time, alternative temporalities, time travel, and temporal shifts". They were one of five 2021

Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...

Arts + Tech Fellows. BQF was selected as the winner of the 2021

CERN The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in Meyrin, western suburb of Gene ...

Collide artist's residency, which pairs them with particle physics researchers to produce a new work exploring

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

, parity and time reversal symmetry.

External links

Music of Moor Mother

Moor Mother's Website

Black Quantum Futurism Homepage

References

{{Reflist Afrofuturism