Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica is now on display through March 30, 2025, marking the first major exhibition to explore Pan-Africanism’s broad influence on art and culture. The exhibition features more than 350 objects spanning from the 1920s to the present, created by artists across four continents: Africa, North America, South America and Europe.

Pan-Africanism, first named and theorized around 1900, is widely recognized as an umbrella term for political movements advocating self-determination and global unity among people of African descent. Project a Black Planet presents a diverse range of works across mediums and time periods, encompassing both fine art and popular culture—paintings, speeches, video art, record albums and sculptural installations. The exhibition is organized around three key Pan-Africanist movements: Garveyism, Négritude and Quilombismo.

“Many visitors will be familiar with aspects of Pan-Africanism, such as the red, green and black colors of the Pan-African flag, a powerful symbol of liberation and solidarity worldwide,” said Antawan I. Byrd, associate curator of photography and media at the Art Institute of Chicago and assistant professor of art history at Northwestern University. “Yet some may be surprised to learn the extent to which the ideas behind that flag have inspired artists and communities for more than a century across Africa and the diaspora. This has created a complex cultural history that has not been fully examined through an exhibition until now.”

Project a Black Planet is part of a broader series of exhibitions and events at the Art Institute and throughout Chicago, with participation from nearly a dozen organizations. At the Art Institute, this exploration began with two installations focused on African history and cinema. The third installment, After the End of the World: Pictures from Panafrica, is on view through April 21, 2025. This photography exhibition features works from the museum’s permanent collection by 17 artists, highlighting how people can learn from the earth, gain both spiritual and physical sustenance from it, and find paths to freedom.

“It has been a privilege to collaborate with insightful and knowledgeable curators on this ambitious project,” said Matthew S. Witkovsky, vice president for strategic art initiatives and Sandor Chair of Photography and Media at the Art Institute of Chicago. “Pan-Africanism is multifaceted and is best explored through collaboration and interdependence, which is why the various installations at the Art Institute will offer something new for every visitor.”

Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica will be accompanied by a major catalog published by the Art Institute of Chicago and designed by Polymode Studio. With contributions from four curators and a dozen external authors, the publication will include a comprehensive visual timeline of Pan-Africanism and serve as a significant resource on African and African diasporic art and politics.

“The publication provides an unprecedented analysis of Pan-Africanism’s cultural reach, covering central themes while raising new questions,” said Adom Getachew, professor of political science and race, diaspora and indigeneity at the University of Chicago. “We hope the catalog will inspire further exploration and dialogue across disciplines on the significance of Pan-African cultural practices.”

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