Quentin VerCetty: Artistic Study Celebrating Black Legacies

Quentin VerCetty Sankofanology: An Artistic Study of Celebrating Black Legacies In The Future Through The Past

The multiple award-winning Afrofuturist a-r-tographer and visual storyteller Quentin VerCetty will be discussing how he uses his artwork as a teaching tool and time capsule to preserve and celebrate Black legacies of history for the future. Informed by his Master in Fine arts studies and art educator experience, Quentin VerCetty will discuss select works of his, such as his Carnegie Hall commission, AstroSankofa (2021) and some 3D augmented reality assets and some of his renowned public art sculptures, breaking down how they engage to decolonize eurocentric art history, reactivate African art antiquity and iconography, along with the expository motifs of Afrofuturism.

This event is hosted by The Anti-Racism Committee in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Quentin VerCetty will address the Western community for Black History Month.

Registration Required: bit.ly/4028dXG

Biography: The Governor's General Bronze Medal award recipient, Quentin VerCetty is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary storyteller, educator, artivist, and an ever-growing interstellar tree. Quentin VerCetty is the first artist ever to be commissioned by Carnegie Hall creating art for the 2021-2022 season based on the theme of Afrofuturism. Quentin VerCetty in partnership with Javid JAH is creating Mississauga's first Black and Brown artist collaboration public art piece, a dynamic archway entitled RAYYAN Cosmic Bloom (2023), and created Toronto's first monument of a person of African descent, Stepping Forward Into History- the Joshua Glover memorial. Quentin VerCetty's work draws on the use of connecting historical past and symbolism with futuristic elements while exploring cosmic connections which he coined the term for it as "Sankofanology." As a scholar, he has been published in numerous journals for articles on Afrofuturism and is the co-editor of Canada's first art book on Afrofuturism entitled: Cosmic Underground Northside: An Incantation of Black Canadian Discourse and Innerstandings (2020) and coined the term "Rastafuturism." Currently, he is the steward of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM) Canada and is the artist director of AstroSankofa Arts Initiatives, a collective and non-for-profit organization focused on public art production, art exhibitions, and NFTs development and support for Afro-descendant creatives. Quentin VerCetty hopes to use his artistic ability to inspire minds and move hearts to make the world a better place.