Author, editor and publisher Sheree Renée Thomas celebrates the global moment the Black Speculative Arts movement is having. Traditionally in popular culture Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Arts have long been considered the domain of white men. Yet, contrary to popular belief, Black artists have been creating groundbreaking work in this space from the very beginning of these genres. Sheree and scholar Susana Morris re-evaluate and recognise the forgotten or underappreciated names that, without, the community would not be as recognised as it is today.
Author Nisi Shawl gives us context of what it was like to be a science fiction writer when Black Speculative Arts was not considered as part of the traditional ‘canon’. They explain, from a personal angle, how the community grew and developed into the worldwide phenomenon that it is today. In 2018, the Marvel movie Black Panther was released. After just one month it had made over a billion dollars in profit and became cherished by fans across the world. This was a watershed moment for Black Speculative Arts as it proved that there was a huge audience for the work. However, without the independent publishers allowing artists to create their work for decades on the fringes, the movie never could have happened.
With the help of Andrea Hairston, Sheree explores the importance of these presses, able to create exciting and unique work, that helped usher in a new wave of artists that are taking on the mainstream like never before. Dr Reynaldo Anderson is a curator and exhibitor of Black Speculative Arts. He talks to Sheree how one exhibition in 2015 has gone on to become a global movement with artists now across Europe, America and Africa.
Image: A picture designed for the recent exhibition in New York of the Black Speculative Arts Movement. Credit: John Jennings, Black Speculative Arts