Celebrating Black Futures 2026

(From left to right, top to bottom:) Kwame Brathwaite, Untitled (Sikolo Brathwaite with Headpiece designed by Carolee Prince), 1968, inkjet print on paper, Courtesy of The Kwame Brathwaite Archive; Michèle Stephenson dir., True North, 2025 (film still); Archival photograph: Poet and activist Ted Joans at the Congress of Black Writers in Montreal, Canada, 1968, Courtesy of Studio112; Tamio Wakayama, Burnt cross at Freedom School, Pascagoula, Mississippi, c. fall 1964, 1964, archival inkjet print, Estate of Tamio Wakayama; Junie Désil, Photo:  Joy Unagaebu

This February, the Vancouver Art Gallery presents Celebrating Black Futures, a month-long public program series that fosters critical dialogue and creative exchange around the work of Black and African artists, locally and globally. Through talks, performances, film screenings and community-led conversations, the series brings Black artistic practices into focus, encouraging moments of reflection and collective exchange.

By foregrounding diverse voices and lived experiences, Celebrating Black Futures deepens public understanding, challenges dominant narratives and builds meaningful connections between artists, audiences and broader cultural contexts. The bespoke line-up of events, brought together in honour of Black History Month and in partnership with the Vancouver International Film Festival and The Black Arts Centre, celebrates Black Futures in Vancouver, Canada and beyond.

Celebrating Black Futures is organized by Kika Memeh, Public Programs Assistant.