Black storytellers successfully envisioned what Wakanda—a futuristic African country unencumbered by colonial baggage—could be. Then a group of “Black Panther” fans brought Wakanda to Chicago.

The author broke race and gender barriers in sci-fi literature and tackled discrimination and identity themes in her work. 

Colorlines sat down with designers from Hyphen-Labs, a multidisciplinary creative collective led by women of color, to discuss the inspiration behind the immersive experience they showcased at South by Southwest.

The first episode of Dust’s “Afrofuturism” series depicts the artist’s life story as a sci-fi adventure. Future episodes will focus on Missy Elliott, Jimi Hendrix and more.

Pierce Freelon describes Blackspace’s mission as “social entrepreneurship with an Afrofuturism twist.”