Black to the Future was a hybrid musical Conflux event that took place on September 23, 2023. The event was a collaboration between the ANANSI Revolutionary Collective, The Music Center and TEC Leimert, and took place across three physical locations (one in LA, and two in Nairobi) as well as two virtual spaces (Gather.Town, Bandlab) which allowed for people to join from wherever they were located. The event was split between two parts, first the active instructional Conflux period where members of the collective (Ndung'u Mbithi and Nabalayo) taught Conflux workshops, followed by performances in Nairobi that were streamed out online to the other locations. It was conceived as a continuation of ANANSI Revolutionary Collective’s collaboration with The Music Center following the success of the ANANSI Radical Catalyst project.

History[edit]

The event emerged as an experiment in hub-based hybrid Confluxes. Where as many prior Confluxes were focused primarily on experiences where artists tele-produced work completely remotely or where most participants gathered in-person in a central hub with a few folks connected remotely, this event featured three separate physical locations (hubs) that were connected to each other online for people to participate from in-person. Virtually, this event also helped expand the collective's Gather space. Through this project, an additional five rooms were created for the collective to use in events.

Previously, the collective had experimented with tele-production on a private basis; however, this event featured the collective's first live tele-performances, with the performances that took place in Nairobi streamed out to the Los Angeles location and through the Gather platform.

It built on the foundation laid by the ANANSI Radical Catalyst project, extending the collaboration with The Music Center. The planning process incorporated lessons from previous ANANSI events, refining strategies for collective decision-making and resource allocation to support a sustainable and impactful gathering.

Event Structure[edit]

The structure of Black to the Future was designed to facilitate organic collaboration while maintaining intentional programming. The event was spread across four locations:

ANANSI Residential Compound - Located in Nairobi, this location was a chiller space that allowed for people to focus in on the Conflux sessions and socialize in a less active environment
Leimert Park - Through the partnership with TEC Leimert, this location was a part of the larger Black to the Future event and featured participants coming in and out. This space was the most educational, with many computers and sound set ups to enable many people to participate in the Conflux simultaneously.
Dimension 33 - Located in Nairobi, within the same neighborhood as the ANANSI Residential Compound, this location was the most active party. This is where the performances took place, but the upstairs studio was also available for those that wanted a quiet location to participate in the Conflux from.
Gather - Participants were able to join from anywhere around the world by logging into the collective's Gather space. The space was upgraded for this project and included: the ANANSI workspace where we typically have our weekly meetings, a lobby rooftop area where people could see streams of the in-person locations, two rooms built specifically for Confluxes, and two rooms for more lowkey exploration.

Chronologically, the event was also split:

Conflux Sessions – Members of the collective hosted four hours of Conflux sessions, teaching people various Conflux techniques: Conflux QP, Conflux Jam, and the Lyrical Conflux
Performances – Performers

Resources[edit]

Black to the Future was produced with a total budget of $6,550 USD. Funding sources included $6,050 from the collaboration with TEC Leimert and The Music Center, supplemented by an additional $500 from the ANANSI Radical Catalyst project. Resource allocation included:

$1,100 paid to ABDesigns for labor and space rental.
$3,325 distributed among 14 contributors for labor.
$300 allocated for equipment.
$150 paid for performances.
$200 provided as compensation for the use of the ANANSI Residential Compound.
$50 offered as a stipend to a participant who contributed to conceptualizing a project that was not ultimately realized.

Praxis[edit]

Black to the Future embodied ANANSI Revolutionary Collective’s praxis of radical organizing through decentralized collaboration and resource-sharing. The event incorporated the Conflux model, emphasizing open-ended participation and emergent creative processes. Organizers employed collective budgeting to ensure equitable distribution of funds and leveraged remote collaboration tools to coordinate contributors across multiple locations. This project included organizers based in Kenya, the United States, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.

In addition to the Confluxes that were apart of the event itself, members of the collective hosted a Visual Conflux prior to the event to design the visual marketing and promotion elements.

People[edit]

Members[edit]

Kadallah Burrowes - Project Catalyst, Kenya
Nardja Owens - Los Angeles Coordinator, United States
Nabalayo - Nairobi Coordinator, Kenya
Ndung'u Mbithi - Nairobi Coordinator, Kenya
Sinatra - Design Coordinator, Kenya
Brian - Online Coordinator, Zimbabwe
Emma Nzioka - Documentation Coordinator, Kenya
Bakhita - Space Design, Kenya
Anjiru - Space Design, Kenya
Z - Documentation, United States
Sayankah - Design, Kenya
Emmaus Kimani - In Person Technical Support, Kenya
Jay Jay - In Person Facilitation, Kenya

Partner Organizations[edit]

Posters[edit]

All of the posters were created during a visual conflux with members of the collective using Figma.