current projects

visit Temporal Tempest Database

Diasporic Futurisms is excited to announce the launch of the virtual database Temporal Tempest. This project has been developed to understand and disseminate how artists and organizations are utilizing and engaging with themes of diasporic futurisms in Canadian arts culture. The database showcases visual art, sound art, media art, and documentation of curatorial projects that materialize the genre of diasporic futurisms.

The premier of Temporal Tempest features twelve projects by arts practitioners across Canada, including Quite Ourselves, Camila Salcedo, Tamil Archive Project, Kofi Oduro, nichola feldman-kiss, Karina Iskandarsjah, Candide Uyanze, Jasmine Liaw, Brigita Gedgaudas, Luis N. Del Angel, Rah Eleh, and Olivia Mc Gilchrist. Each project speaks to themes of diasporic futurisms through interactive digital worlds, coding, video performance, digital archives, and new media art. Themes of works that have been included in this database are: magical realism, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, folklore, and related sub-genres. 

Diasporic Futurisms are defining futurisms as the presentation of alternative perspectives of the present, predictions of the future, and creative approaches to reimagining the past. The primary considerations born out of this research that supported the development of this database are:

• What is the legacy of artistic representation of diasporic futurisms in Canada and how they have developed into the present in the arts and arts organizations?
• How can we broaden visibility of creatives working in the genre of diasporic futurisms and create an inclusive platform for artists and arts practitioners to thrive beyond tokenization?
• How can we engage futures without relying on common tropes that perpetuate, reify and oppress?

Preceding the construction of Temporal Tempest, we interviewed experts in the field, such as Wendy Chun, Rah Eleh, Camille Turner, Olivia Mc Gilchrist, Karina Iskandarsjah, and nichola feldman-kiss. These interviews helped affirm and build from our knowledge that: as we critique current systems of xenophobic oppression of the arts sector in Canada, projects like Temporal Tempest can offer possibilities for new structures of care, respect and imagination to replace them. 

This space is intended to be rhizomatic–expanding over time. Calls for submissions are currently closed, but will open again in the near future. Continue to check our website and social media for updates. 

Both of the Caribbean diaspora, Adrienne Matheuszik and Vanessa Godden [Diasporic Futurisms] build mythologies of distant homelands into their arts practices. Temporal Tempest draws from these experiences to construct this project.

We curate futurisms of the diaspora.