Symposium Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November 2015 Goethe-Institut Johannesburg 119 Jan Smuts Avenue Johannesburg South Africa "If you want to have any idea of the world that is coming, the world ahead of us, look at Africa!", says Afropolitan author and critic Achille Mbembe. From Lagos to Nairobi to Johannesburg, the continent is giving answers to global questions of the future. What does the African future look like? How do artists and academics imagine this future? What forms and narratives of science fiction have African artists developed? What connections to Afrofuturism can be found in Africa today? These are just some of the questions 'African Futures – Science Fiction in Africa' addresses within the scope of its key topic 'Creating the Future – The Cultural Perspective'. Envisaging a future and presenting this impulse was often considered to be a symbol of liberty. While Afrofuturism originated primarily in the diaspora in the USA, and is associated with artists such as Sun Ra, George Clinton and Octavia Butler, 'African Futures' is dedicated to the current artistic exploration of Africa's future on the continent itself and internationally. More than 50 international guests have been invited to African Futures, including Kodwo Eshun (UK), Nnedi Okorafor (Nigeria), Jean-Pierre Bekolo (Cameroon), Spoek Mathambo (SA), Faustin Linyekula (DRC) and Achille Mbembe (Cameroon/SA). They will be exploring visions of the future, following potential narratives and artistic expression in literature, fine arts, performance, music, film and various digital formats. 'African Futures' festival will address these and other questions with a wide range of events throughout Johannesburg, as well as at partner festivals in Lagos and Nairobi.