Barbican’s Project a Black Planet Expands with Pan-African Arts and Culture programming

This summer, the Barbican has extended its offering of events for Project a Black Planet. This is their centre-wide season exploring the global influence of Pan-Africanism on contemporary art, music, politics and culture.

Running alongside the major exhibition Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, the wider programme brings together thinkers, healers and storytellers from across diaspora communities. What follows is a series of events (over 30) spanning visual art workshops and performances.

The newly announced programme, co-curated by Tobi Kyeremateng and Jason “Scully” Kavuma, responds to four central themes: Rituals, Nationhood, Technology and Archive. Across the Barbican Hall, Conservatory and The Pit, audiences are invited into experiences that centre Black world-building.

At the heart of the season is Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, a major international exhibition featuring more than 300 works exploring how Pan-African movements shaped global visual culture over the last century. The exhibition includes work from artists including Simone Leigh, Chris Ofili, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, David Hammons, Wifredo Lam and Magdalene Odundo.

One of our standouts on the programme of the season is Panafrica in Rhythm on 12th June, a live concert co-hosted by Moses Boyd and Jamz Supernova in partnership with The Oracle Collective. It brings together artists including Steam Down & Friends, Asheber & The Afrikan Revolution, Bonita x SLICKnBOBBY, Jas Kayser and more, celebrating improvisation and collaboration across Black diasporic culture.

The following month, on 17th July, we see Groundings on a Black Planet, curated by HOUSE OF DREAD. They plan to transform the Conservatory into an immersive space for sound, reflection and collective reasoning inspired by revolutionary thinker Walter Rodney. Audiences are invited to share in communal listening rather than passive spectatorship.

Image credit: Film still from emi: freedomsong courtesy of Rohan Ayinde and Tayo Rapoport 2025 featuring Yewande YoYo Obunu

Elsewhere, conversations and listening sessions explore Black futurity, technology, and activism. Speakers and contributors include Busayo Twins, Lex Fefegha, Nate Agbetu, Toyin Agbetu, Saige Sounds, Lynnée Denise and AJ Haastrup, alongside workshops with playwright Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini, filmmaker Jennifer Lauren Martin and community partners, including The Africa Centre. 

The season also includes storytelling sessions, speculative workshops and Carnival-inspired community projects developed with Mahogany Carnival Design and IRIE! Dance Theatre. Demonstrating that the programme is rooted not just in discussion but also in movement and collective making. 

Rather than simply revisiting Pan-African history, Project a Black Planet asks what Black creative futures can look and feel like right now. Find the full programme and tickets here.

Written by: Bridget Eke