Home » Blog » The Making of Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures

The Making of Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures

In March 2023, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. The exhibition investigates Afrofuturist expression through art, music, activism, and more.

Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) is proud to have fabricated and installed the 4,200-square-foot exhibition, which features innovative custom exhibition elements, including graphics, temporary walls, arches, cases, specialty lighting, and a hanging “media pyramid.”

The entrance to the Afrofuturism exhibition showing the title glowing in white on a blue background.
Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A series of three glowing blue arches leading toward a graphic panel with text and an image.
SIE fabricated and installed a series of spaceship-inspired arches in Zone 1 of the exhibition. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man holds a strip of material against a glowing blue light as a woman wearing a face mask looks toward the camera.
SIE and NMAAHC staff review the lighting for the arches.

 

A hallway lit with blue light containing two images of Black people in spacesuits, the title "New Black Futures," and a spiral design.
The exhibition features otherworldly blue lighting. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man stands near the top of a ladder and gestures with one hand while looking at a blue light.
SIE Exhibit Specialist Enrique Dominguez prototypes specialty lighting for the exhibition.

 

A gallery lit with blue light containing backlit images and text and a pink spiral design.
SIE produced and installed several backlit graphics in the exhibition. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

Two men kneel on the floor as they measure and install exhibition elements.
SIE Exhibit Specialists Jeffrey Rosshirt and Carlos Neyra assemble exhibition components in Zone 1.

 

A purple wall lined with yellow geometrically shaped graphic panels.
SIE modeled, produced, and finished over 150 GeoWeb graphic panels. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

Two men on either side of a double-sided ladder place panels on a gallery wall.
SIE staff use templates to install the first layer of GeoWeb graphic panels.

 

Three men hold hands and jump in front of a dark blue wall lined with orange geometric panels.
SIE staff jump for joy after completing a section of the graphics installation.

 

A glowing structure hangs above a gallery and projects an image onto the floor. Display cases around the gallery feature costumes.
Zone 2 of the exhibition focuses on Afrofuturism on stage and screen. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man kneels inside a display case and wipes it with a cloth while looking at the camera.
SIE Exhibit Specialist Carlos Neyra cleans a case that will display costumes from The Wiz.

 

A glowing structure hangs above a gallery and projects an image onto the floor. The gallery is full of display cases and colorful graphics.
A media pyramid projects onto the floor of the gallery in Zone 2. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man holds a tape measure up to a hanging structure as a woman looks on.
SIE and NMAAHC staff review the media pyramid structure at SIE.

 

A woman wearing a face mask looks down at a panel with glowing light strips as two people gesture to it from the sides.
SIE and NMAAHC staff review the programming of the lighting for the media pyramid.

 

Display cases featuring a coffin and a gasmask are backed by images of protesters marching.
Zone 3 of the exhibition focuses on activism in the digital age. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man holding a tool reaches up to the top of a graphic with a circular hole in it.
SIE Head of Graphic Production Scott Schmidt installs custom murals in Zone 3.

 

A man on a ladder drills a white lattice structure mounted on a black wall.
SIE Exhibit Specialist Zachary Hudson installs a mount for a Black Lives Matter banner.

 

A man stands next to a large display case containing a sign that reads, "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty."
SIE Exhibit Specialist Vincent Chirichella closes the case on the Black Lives Matter banner.

 

A display case features space costumes next to a pink-tinted graphic of a Black woman on a spaceship.
Zone 3 includes a section about African Americans in NASA’s space program and on Star Trek. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

An orange-tinted graphic mural next to a display case shows a Black superhero.
Zone 3 also focuses on Black superheroes in comics, television, and film. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man guides a large metal truss through a semicircular cutout in a wall in the exhibition.
SIE superhero Victor Garrett carefully navigates a truss through a tight spot in the exhibition.

 

A display case features a black superhero costume against a red background.
One of the featured objects in the exhibition is the Black Panther costume worn by actor Chadwick Boseman. Watch SIE’s videos to learn more about the process of making the mannequin. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

A man stands in a circular hole in a wall and reaches up to attach a graphic mural.
SIE Exhibit Specialist Caleb Menzies installs a custom mural in Zone 3.

 

Two men hold a structure containing a monitor against the wall.
SIE Exhibit Specialists Victor Garrett and Carlos Neyra install a bezel for a monitor in Zone 3.

 

A man in a motorized lift swings a hammer down on top of a wooden wall as another man underneath pushes upward.
SIE Exhibit Specialists Carlos Neyra and Victor Garrett install the exit portal walls.