Carnegie Hall

Zaika dos Santos is a multi-artist, data scientist, curator, designer, prompt engineer, fiction writer, researcher, specialist in Emerging Technologies, teacher, scientific communicator of Speculative Movements such as Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism and Afropresentism, crypto artist and NFT and WEb 3.0 researcher. CEO of the company Afrofuturismo Arte e STEM, an innovative company that combines Generative Design, CGI, Data Science, Human Sciences, Exact Sciences, STEAM and Education 5.0 to create innovative and transformative solutions. She is a director, producer and editor of speculative fiction. She is the founder and main coordinator of the Black Speculative Arts Movement Brazil.

Her background is in Audiovisual Technology, Radio and TV, and Web Design. She has a degree in Fine Arts from Guignard – Universidade Estado de Minas Gerais and is a specialist in Data Science from Digital House. She has a postgraduate degree in artificial intelligence.

She has training in future scenarios through “Afrofuturism 2.0 and Global Security Foresight” using the Horizon Scanning methodology, with the N Square Institution. In 2022, she presented her research in Art, Science and Technology of Brazilian Afrofuturism at Harvard, at the Second Conference on Afro-Latin American Studies. She was curator of the 2023 Public Administration Innovation Week - Consolidated as the largest public innovation event in Latin America. He promotes scientific dissemination at symposiums, universities and media channels such as the podcast “Mentes da Tecnologia” from Forbes Brasil and the program “Conversa com Bial” from Globo.

Dr. Reynaldo Anderson currently serves as Associate Professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reynaldo is currently the Executive Director and co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM), an international network of artists, intellectuals, creatives, and activists. He is also a founding member of A.R.T. 2063, (Africans Rising Together). He is the co-editor of the following anthologies and journals, Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness and The Black Speculative Arts Movement: Black Futurity, Art+Design (Lexington Books, 2015, 2019), Cosmic Underground: A Grimoire of Black Speculative Discontent (Cedar Grove Publishing, 2018), Black Lives, Black Politics, Black Futures, a special issue of TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies (2018), and When is Wakanda: Afrofuturism and Dark Speculative Futurity (The Journal of Futures Studies, 2019).

He is also the author of numerous articles on Africana Studies and Communication studies and helped conceive the joint BSAM and NY LIVE Arts Curating the End of the World online exhibitions (2020-2021). Reynaldo was a member of the curatorial council for Carnegie Hall’s Afrofuturism festival in 2022. He has presented papers in areas of communications, Africana studies, Afrofuturism, and critical theory in the US and abroad.

Multi-artist, researcher and educator. Born in Aracajú, Sergipe, Margot Oliveira uses her art, research and activism to “build on the legacy,” celebrate and preserve the African heritage in Brazil.

With a degree in Dance and Education, she has been developing body performance work since 2008, focusing on addressing themes that highlight the protagonism of the black body on stage and the preservation of our artistic identity by honoring the black female body on stage.

As a researcher, she has published several works that highlight Afro-Sergipe culture, collaborating with institutions such as the Federal University of the Northeast and Southeast. Recognized for her contribution to Afro-Brazilian culture, she has already received some awards at film festivals with the Fiction and Afrofuturism Short Film “Imã de Geladeira” (2024) ItaúCultural, IberoAmericano Festival (2025) and “Prêmio Feminismos Decolonial” (2018), UnB with “Não sou Tuas Nega,” among others.

Andrés Mauricio Mosquera Mosquera Graphic Designer and Photographer, son of Esneda Mosquera Astie and Eulalio Mosquera Murillo, grandson of Ofelia Astie de Mosquera and Nicolas Mosquera Asprilla, great-grandson of Ana María Cuesta Renteria, nephew of Ana del Socorro Cuesta and Fermina Minnota. Creator of “Fall in love with Chocó” audiovisual proposal that exposes the Pacific Caribbean Chocó of Colombia - Professor at the University.

NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS: First Black to Exhibit at the Museum House of the Independence of Colombia 2023- 2024 BOGOTA - COLOMBIA, Pereira Art Museum “ALTER NATURA” 2022, Luis Echavarría Villegas Library Cultural Center EAFIT “Todos los Ríos, El Río” 2023-2024, ORIKA Visual Arts Hall “Petronio Alvares Festival” 2023, Truth Commission “Resistencias de Oro” Aquérela Shopping Center 2022, Exhibition “EL ATRATO SOY YO” WWF 2024. INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS: WirkRcunm Dorbirn Bahnhofstrabe 9 - 2023, Junushoff Wageningen, Netherlands.

Poet, vichera, empirical artist, cultural manager, popular researcher and community audiovisual producer born in Cali, black and peripheral with Cauca roots. She is interested in developing documentary and autobiographical projects that explore the body through various artistic languages such as; writing, poetry, the performative and the audiovisual, the ritual practices of collective memory construction that inhabit a collective, diverse and extensive body made up of offered symbolic elements that are written from the shores. Technologies thought and situated from a community narrative, from the worldviews, cultural practices and ways of understanding the life of the black communities of the Colombian Pacific and the territories that we inhabit and that inhabit us.

Passionate about Design, Fashion, Technology, Art and Travel, I specialize in creating experiences that combine Digital Art, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 3D Animation and cutting-edge technologies with themes such as Afrofuturism, Streetwear Deluxe and Urban Culture. This unique intersection between technology and culture allows me to develop immersive experiences, video games and 3D animations that showcase the rich cultural diversity of countries such as Bolivia, the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria and Brazil.

My work includes collaborations with brands and companies such as THESAINT, Yokogawa, Complete Magazine, Juan de La Paz, SESI, Caixa Federal and Trensurb. In addition, I am the creator and active participant of social projects such as Terreiro HI-TECH and Favela Contest.

In an undulating movement, M. Dias Preto presents a meeting of multiple languages that highlights art as a cure and a lens for viewing reality. The visual record is like a jewel that reveals connections in shiny and textured layers to be assimilated. The complexity lies in seeking an aesthetic that is harmless and attractive at first glance, like a lure. But deep and tense as you delve deeper. Confronting LGBTQIA+, gender, ancestry and memory issues through the alchemy of bixaria.

Visual artist from Ceará, winner of the 2nd Décio Noviello Photography Award. He participated in the 72nd and 74th Salão de Abril and Arte Praia 5th edition. In addition, he has developed two solo exhibitions: Campo de Passagem: movimento ondulatório and Amolde. In 2024, he received an honor from the Fortaleza City Council for his work as an architect and developed the Visual Identity for the Atlântico Vermelho exhibition, held at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland (2024).

Visual multi-artist, artistic director, culinary griot and researcher of Afrofuturism, Afrourbanity, and ethnic-racial issues in African-based religions, gender and social criticism. Graduated in Fine Arts and graduated in imaging techniques and photography in Spain. He has participated in several exhibitions, residencies, and artistic direction of cultural events in Rio de Janeiro and abroad, standing out in projects that explore themes of blackness and ancestral rescue. A parader in schools such as Tijuca, Paraiso do Tuiuti and Vai Vai, his work explores Afrocentric diasporic narratives, greatly influenced by his family’s strong connection with schools such as Império Serrano, Portela and Vai Vai, work deeply rooted in this cultural heritage.

Afrokaliptico (Paulo Cesar Ferreira da Silva), born in São Paulo, 1998. Bachelor of Visual Arts (FURG), Master’s degree in Education (UFRGS).

Multi-artist who works with languages such as poetry, drawing, photography, performance, video art and experimental audiovisual. He is part of the BSAM Brazil community of black speculative movements. He is part of the collection of the Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Arts (MARGS) and has participated in art and culture exhibitions, shows and festivals since 2017. He is currently directing a short film about art and education in the city of Rio Grande, supported by the Paulo Gustavo Law 2023.

Daughter of Oyá and granddaughter of Luiza. She is a member of Ylê de Oxum and Ossanha - Quilombo Família de Ouro. Africanist, Multiartist, Afrofuturist Scientist. Dancer of traditional and African-based dances in “Nossas Origens,” folkloric projection in “Grupo Andanças,” flamenco in “CF La La Negra” and Afro-Gaucho dances in “Cia Afro-Sul Ọdọmodê.” Cultural producer of “Afro21-Futurismos” and “Pampa Bizarro.” PhD in Social Communication. Curator of art exhibitions, artisan, provocateur and cultural activist. Editor, proofreader and organizer of anthologies. She works as a teacher of creative writing workshops, has short stories and articles published in national and international publishing houses. Slammer since 2017. Author of the novel “Sentinela” (Malê, 2024).

I am Juanma Art, I am 22 years old; I currently live in Quibdó Chocó and I am a student. I have been a painter and illustrator for about 7 years and without a doubt it is one of the best gifts I have.

I am a clinical psychologist. I am interested in people being able to recognize and contextualize themselves in their history, in their immediate social context, as active participants and recipients of personal and collective dynamics, which help to better understand the experience of what it is to BE HUMAN. I try to push the limits of the established so that the paradigms we have of the world and of ourselves can expand and transform. I am a self-taught artist, but creating has always been present and together with my experience as a black and indigenous woman from the Caribbean coast, I have learned that art, the act of creating is a search, an encounter, resistance, communication, power, relief and a shield. With my work, I work on the darkest parts of being and its integration into its constant transformation. I work with “minorities,” those rejected by the common, by the “normal.”

I am Florence Antonia Gómez Quintero, from Cali, Valle del Cauca, with a degree in Visual Arts and Industrial Design. My work explores black spirituality and cosmogonies in Colombia, reinterpreting them through illustration, photography and art direction. Inspired by Afrofuturism and Art Nouveau, I develop visual proposals that fuse ancestral African heritage with a contemporary and territorial vision.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Publishing Studies from the Faculty of Letters of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (FALE-UFMG), and a master’s and doctoral degree in Visual Arts from the Postgraduate Program in Arts of the School of Fine Arts of UFMG. He is a multi-artist, researcher, independent editor, writer, activist and cultural articulator. In his artistic, academic and poetic research, he investigates and articulates race, representation, transfuturism, performance writing, cultural policies, Afro-Pindoramic performativities, the book as a performative space and queer in contemporary arts. In recent years, he has published writings and exhibited works in anthologies, literary magazines, collective exhibitions and participated in artistic residencies, in person or virtually, in/from Belo Horizonte (MG), Salvador and Cachoeira (BA), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Florianópolis (SC), Porto Alegre (RS), Montevideo (Uruguay), Porto (Portugal), São Paulo (São Paulo), New York (United States).

Melanin Kris is a spoken-thoughts artist and multidisciplinary storyteller born in Surinam, based in the Netherlands, whose work bridges ancestral legacies with speculative futures. Deeply rooted in the diasporic experience, his creations navigate themes of resilience, identity, and transformation. By blending poetry, multimedia installations, and collaborative projects, he reimagines African and Caribbean myths as gateways to cosmic and technological possibilities, creating narratives that honor the past while envisioning transcending futures. From captivating performances to thought provoking visual works, his artistry transcends aesthetics, offering profound reflections on culture, society, and self-expression. His work not only captivates audiences but also inspires them to explore new ways of thinking.

Andressa Silva is a multidisciplinary artist, mother, activist in the black movement, member of the Collective of Brazilian Afrofuturists, BSAM Brazil, art educator and researcher in the area of Afro-Centric poetics and indigenous peoples. Born in Minas Gerais, in the East Zone, on the outskirts of Juiz de Fora. She has a degree in Arts and Design from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and is currently studying for a degree in Visual Arts. Member of the group Ingoma, she is a student of Brazilian Popular Music, Congada.

Guilherme Xavier is a designer, visual artist and crypto art researcher. He is a graphic designer, service designer, strategic designer and game designer. He develops digital works in different languages, focusing on static and animated Pixel Art, through his project 55pxl and on glitch art at Glitches Urbanos. He has a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the School of Design and Visual Arts of the State University of Minas Gerais, vice-coordinator of BSAM Brazil and co-creator of the crypto art brasil curation.

For over 5 years, he has been exploring the depths of African epistemologies and their intersections with the future, in visionary approaches to cultural connection. As an active member of the BSAM Brazil community, he is part of the writing and literature axis, contributing to the advancement of Afrofuturism in the country. With over 30 works in development, Will Braga is the author of the Afrofuturist novel Omi Ipalolo - Águas Silenciosas, published by Editora Kitembo and the short story Omi Soro - Águas Falam published in issue 45 of Revista Amarello.

He is a first-time screenwriter for film productions. His creations include a recently launched Afrofuturist procedural and episodic sitcom web series. He has been a commercial model for 4 years at agencies such as Models Black, from Revista Raça, a theater student and future actor with a DRT. Freelancer, copywriter and advertising writer. In 2022-2023, he was recognized as one of Google’s 100 Outstanding Black Creators, joining the prestigious Black Creator Program from Startup Creators, LLC.

Cynthia Mariah is a stylist, researcher and multimaker artist, a recognized Afrofuturist and a member of BSAM (Black Speculative Arts Movement), a global network of Afrofuturist creators. With her brand based at Casa de Criadores, she uses fashion and art as a platform for political and social debates. She currently works in the countryside of São Paulo, where she founded Estúdio Consciente and the Center for Research in African and Afrodiasporic Fashions. Creator of the Santa Isabel Rosa Fashion Week, Cynthia is a reference in Afro-Brazilian fashion, with years of research on Black Creole women from the 18th and 19th centuries and the development of a chronology of Afro-Brazilian fashion, which extends to Afrofuturism. Since 2004, when she began her career with the brand of the same name, she has developed methodologies that democratize fashion education, deconstructing Eurocentric paradigms and valuing cultural diversity.

Suelen Lima develops her research based on her work as a braider at the Afro Preta Brasileira Beauty Salons, a space that allows her to reflect on perceptions and experiences related to the universe of beauty, the daily lives of braiders, and ancestral practices. She also dedicates herself to thinking about how body and hair are symbolic supports for expressing identities and provoking sensations. Her interests include discussions about memories, affection, aesthetics, and personal dialogues that take place in these spaces. The artist seeks to express through different languages her perception of how hair manifests itself in the composition of people’s daily lives, using curly hair and Afro diasporic braids as the basis for her research. Recent group exhibitions: Future In Black, Sebrae / BSAM Brasil, São Paulo - Brazil. (2024) Cama de Gato, Edifício Vera, Nino Cais, São Paulo - Brazil. (2024) Immersive Exhibition Afro Remix 2.0, BSAM Brasil - São Paulo. (2024)

Zatelithe, the stage name of Fabio Arboleda, represents an Afro-Colombian visionary born in Medellín in 1980. From an early age, his life was nourished by art, music and discipline. At the age of 13, in 1993, he embraced Hip Hop culture, starting out in graffiti and Brakedance. His Afrofuturistic approach began in 2000 with his funk band, Electrolíquido, and in 2007 he gave life to his musical project Zatelithe, a vibrant mix of funk, dancehall and Colombian rhythms with deep roots in Afrofuturism and Pan-Africanism. Graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Antioquia, he has been a muralist since 2007 and founder of Negro Fest, a festival and corporation that he has led since 2017. At the same time, he has exhibited his work on multiple occasions and taken his music to various stages. Practicing Taekwondo since he was 5 years old, he was the first child to earn a black belt in Medellín, demonstrating that his strength and creativity have always been with him.

Martha Santos, an Afrofuturist, is a member of BSAM Brazil and currently works as a Maker Educator at Associação Brasil América. Her career is marked by the development of learning experiences involving programming, modeling and digital manufacturing for children and adults, using free and open tools.

Gaby Adaayo is a multi-artist, art educator, and researcher. In recent years, she has been working in the visual arts with her project @colapretta and in literature with Slam poetry. Her works are based on the African civilizing values of the continent and the diaspora and reflect on the legacies that black people have left in the world. She is part of the Zamberacatu Nation, the first maracatu nation in Rio Grande do Norte, and since 2015, she has been developing activities in schools, quilombola communities, and black women’s collectives in urban and rural centers of the city of Natal. In 2021, she held her first exhibition, Igbá Ayọ́ Ọ̀dàrà – The mythical Universe of the Orixás, at the SESC gallery in Natal/RN, becoming the first black woman to exhibit in this gallery. In 2024, he participated in the collective exhibition The Democracy Project, which brought together Afrofuturist productions organized by the BSAM Brasil Network, in New York-USA and also in the Àgò Ìyá exhibition at Ateliê Yúna in Chapada Diamantina-BA.