Announcement
Press Pass – https://forms.gle/xBumQeZcGVhJ3CVz8
AfroCon 2020 is going virtual! Follow us for updates and announcements in the coming weeks! If you are looking to perform, host a virtual vendor booth, or apply for a workshop/panel complete the applicable forms below.
Performer – https://forms.gle/iWNbSq2qjwwjmeCJ8
Exhibitor/Vendor – https://forms.gle/mS8CJWhmyM3bATcS6
Panels & Workshop – https://forms.gle/VF9572Udb2qHAKfi8
Of course just like any other event, we are grateful for our sponsors and volunteers. If you would like that to be you, please complete the corresponding form bellow:
Sponsorship – https://forms.gle/WwgrMAx7t36C1LHz6
Volunteers – https://forms.gle/y6gCe6FGHYnb4Fui6
Are you interested in covering AfroCon 2020 on October 10, 2020 for a media or news outlet? Why thank you so much! We appreciate you sharing info about AfroCon and helping us promote greatness! For that, we’d love to cover your ticket.
About Our Event
AfroCon is a community building event that includes curated conversations about the issues and themes that impact Black lives and Black Futures; consumerism and economic development of the black dollar; nerd culture and vehicles for k-12 educational achievement. It is an opportunity to support an ethnically diverse range of independent artists and businesses with an emphasis on organizations led by people of color. Most importantly AfroCon is a safe space for the celebration of nerd culture and black culture.
Our Mission
The House of Afros, Capes & Curls is an organization whose goal is to connect people from diverse backgrounds and build a community based on a shared love of science fiction, fantasy, gaming, and Afrofuturism, while providing a safe space to explore the artistic literary and historic merits of geek culture.
Non Discrimination Policy: The House of Afros, Capes & Curls does not discriminate based on race, color, ethicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities.
Our Schedule
Submissions for content are still being accepted until September 15th.
(See forms above)
9 - 9:30am CST
Welcome: Jade Rogers, Wayne Brown, Katrina Adams, Julia Parker, Rolanda Horton, Tori Jones
Hopin
9:30 - 10am CST
Main Stage Opening Event: Morning Meditation w/Sihnuu Hetep
Hopin
10 - 11am CST
Main Stage Event - Children of Octavia: Why Octavia Butler’s work means so much in 2020
Hopin
Hosted by Stephani Tyrance
11am - 12pm CST
Main Stage Event - We Have Always Been Here: Myth, Legend, Lore & Fantasy in Black Culture
Hopin
Myth, Legend, Fantasy & Lore has always been a part of Black culture whether through stories or religion. From the mermaids, to the gods, Ananse to Brer’ Rabbit, Black culture has always lived in fantastical places and a love of other worldly genres is nothing new at all.
12pm - 2pm CST
Workshops + Virtual Gaming
Hopin
12:00-12:45 - Session A
- Panel Discussion - Rebuild/Restore/Renew: Building BIPOC Arts Institutions
Post Pandemic
- Panel: Carla Stillwell, Denise Chapman, Dana Rose, Scott Woods
- Greeter + Comments: Nik Whitcomb
- MoveMed (Yoruba Movement)
- Speaker: Jerome MT
- Does Charles X Drink Sherry? A Deep Dive into Character Design
- Speaker: Alex Brigeman
- Workshop
- Speaker: Tiana Conyers
- Boardgame
- TBD
- Boardgame
- TBD
- MeetUp: Harry Potter w/Stephani Tyrance
2pm - 2:30pm CST
Blerd Meet
Hopin
You'll have 180 seconds to meet someone new and answer: 1. What's your one thing? (favorite game, fandom, etc.) 2. What's the future of blerdom?
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Featured Guests
Justina Ireland
Bestselling author, professor, and activistJustina Ireland is a New York Times Bestselling author, professor, and activist for elevating marginalized voices. Ireland’s numerous works span the galaxy from the Star Wars universe with titles such as Lando’s Luck all the way to the end of the Civil War with Dread Nation. Her new book, Deathless Divide continues the story of and former editor-in-chief of the FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction
Nerd Soul
HIP HOP + NERD + SOULNERDSoul is that intangible fresh--that 70's soul mixed with comics, some sci-fi fantasy, movie geekery, topped off with the Golden Era of Hip Hop. I've developed NERDSoul over the years as a StreetGEEK, unknowingly by loving Wu-Tang, Justice League, Star Wars, Stevie Wonder and playing D&D after school. NERDSoul comes from that StreetGEEK that can chop it up with the best, while being up on games around the block and Pop Culture.
Event Speakers
Celeste Butler
Artist + Quilter-PreneurCeleste Butler is a self- taught fiber artist, QUILTER-PRENEUR and Griot. She is committed to serving, preserving, nurturing, and teaching togetherness in her community through quilting. Her work can be found in the private collection of world renown author, inspirational spiritual speaker, and life coach Iyanla Vanzant. She has exhibited at Thread Painted Portrait Quilts, Carver Bank, and Love's Jazz & Art Center; and recently completed an Artist in Residency quilt project at Nelson Mandela School.
Jerome MT
Movement Artist, Teacher, Mindfulness MentorJerome MT is a movement artist, teacher, mindfulness mentor and spiritualist homed in Honolulu, Hawaii. His movement and teaching aim to inspire the coalescence, communication and community of Salsa culture and to expand its art in everyone. He unifies knowledge and experience to provide the wisdom of a creative and balanced life using the tools of the mind, body, breath and art. Currently, he travels the world with his brand AlohAsheXpression sharing the gifts of a creative life through his teaching and movement art. The spirit of Aloha and the life energy known as Ashe fuel his passion for humanity and the beautiful dance between them.
Michael Barnes
Graphic Designer/Artist SpeakerMichael Barnes is the Founder and CEO of Contemporary Fantasy Designs, an Omaha-based business focused on providing visual communication services for a wide range of organizations. What began as a hobby on a video game fan-site, soon became a degree in visual communications. From there, Mr. Barnes and his team have been hired to complete projects for companies such as Mortal Kombat Online, Boys Scouts of America Mid-America Council, the Omaha’s Riverfront Jazz & Blues Festival and the Love's Jazz & Arts Center to name a few. He has a true understanding of how to connect a company’s brand and messaging with its consumers through visual conceptualization.
Carla Stillwell
Founder and Executive Director of the Stillwell Institute for Contemporary Black ArtThe Institute’s mission is to recruit, develop, and support contemporary Black artists and teach art making in the Black community as a healing practice, a vehicle for social change, and a viable career opportunity. Ms. Stillwell began her directorial career with the late night stage production of the popular 70s sitcom Good Times. She went on to direct Addae Moons critically acclaimed work She Calls up the Sun (2008), Kevin Douglas No Experience Necessary, Keith Josef Adkins The Last Saint on Sugar Hill (2010) and is currently directing Paul Notices Leaves, Trees, Forest opening January (2013).
Carla Stillwell
Founder and Executive Director of the Stillwell Institute for Contemporary Black Art
Nik Whitcomb
Actor, Director, and Casting DirectorNik Whitcomb is an actor, director, and casting director born and raised in Omaha, NE. Nik recently returned to the Omaha Theater Company for Young People (The Rose), where he took his first theatre class, to direct ELLA ENCHANTED THE MUSICAL. Nik has also worked with The Performing Arts Program at the Union for Contemporary Art, Blue Barn Theatre, Great Plains Theatre Commons, and won a number of awards for his portrayal of the Dryer/Bus in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE in 2016. Nik is known across the Midwest having worked with many major theatrical institutions such as Guthrie Theater, Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Ordway Center for Performing Arts, and the Old Log Theatre to name a few and was named a "Theatre Worker You Should Know" by American Theatre Magazine. Currently based in Chicago, IL, Nik is a Casting Associate with Paskal Rudnicke Casting and works on a number of other projects both in front of and behind the table. Nik is also a 2020/2021 Directing Apprentice with the Actors Theatre of Louisville and is the creator and host of THE COME UP with Nik Whitcomb.
Marcus Ross
Founder, Operations Manager, Lead Game Designer, Waterbear GamesMarcus has a background in computer programming, but his true passion is for board games. His interest began as a child obsessed with Monopoly and ballooned from there, expanding his collection to a wide range of games including German style board games. 99% of the time, if you see a tweet from @waterbeargames or @discountsalmon, it’s Marcus. He is responsible for most of the promotions, operating the business side of Water Bear Games, and getting their games into stores, as well as brainstorming ideas for new games with his vast knowledge of all things tabletop. https://waterbeargames.com/
Our Family Plays Games
PresentersMik, Starla and their son Grant are Our Family Plays Games. They are dedicated to sharing their love and inspiring diversity and inclusion in the world of board games. They are contributors for the Dice Tower, on Boardgame Breakfast and were recently interviewed on their passion for board gaming by Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, The African American Network TV and NBC News. They now share their love of boardgaming at Our Family Plays Games YouTube channel.
Jamillah Hinson
PanelistJamillah Hinson is a Chicago based independent curator and arts programmer focused on exploring the works and concepts derived from the rich diversity found throughout the African diaspora. Hinson’s work often delves into the everyday life of Black people across various cultures and ethnicities, examining and glamorizing often erased components of Blackness in the Americas and the Caribbean. Currently, Hinson’s practice has evolved to encompass the mythical and spiritual practices of Blackness, which are often intertwined with the everyday.
After Party Lineup
Mesonjixx
Performing ArtistMesonjixx is an artist who currently resides in Omaha. Her father is Black American born and raised in the Alabama Ozarks and her mother is a South Pasifika Islander from Honolulu, Hawaii. Mesonjixx is the middle child of five. While living in Chicago (2009-2014) she honed her songwriting and musical style. She’s since returned to Nebraska to find balance in her interconnected nature of her identities as a woman, as one who belongs to two diasporas of two hemispheres, and as a young black midwesterner who finds the plains of America her home. Mesonjixx creates music to find her unique center. Soon after her performance debut in 2015, Mesonjixx has not only become a fixture of the Nebraska music scene, but has risen to the top of artists in the Midwest. Both as a solo artist and as a leader of a trio and quartet, which has drawn the most talented musicians of Nebraska. Her current trio, with keyboardist Nate Asad and percussionist John Evans -- was selected to open for Kamasi Washington’s recent performance in Omaha, and was a returning festival favorite at this year’s True/False Independent Film Festival in Columbia, Missouri. She describes the music as: Afro-futuristic Experimental Subculture Soul.
Kiwi
Performing ArtistKiwi is a multi-instrumentalist from Omaha Nebraska. The singer-songwriter melds an eclectic mix of r&b and hip hop influenced accompaniment under her soul-stirring lyrics. Kiwi is a music teacher in the Omaha metro area and has worked with multiple non-profits in the city to bring music to underserved youth. Her band Bound has performed around the city since 2017 and her solo work continues to take form as the years’ progress.
Conrad Clifton
Performing ArtistConrad Clifton is an Omaha native, Brooklyn based electronic artist, and Infinity Pool Recordings’ label founder. He blends electronic music and hip-hop together in unique and daring ways, that tell a tale through each tune. With over 2 Million streams on Spotify, Conrad has received editorial playlist placements on Dance Rising, Electronic Circus, Bass Arcade, Friday Cratediggers and more. Winner of the Independent Music Award for BEST DANCE/ELECTRONIC EP, Conrad was called "one of the most exciting electronic artists to watch" by EARMILK. His forthcoming album GET YOUR WHOLE LIFE, taps into a vibe that’s perfect for fans of KAYTRANADA, Tom Misch, GoldLink, Yaeji and Black Coffee. For the first single “Neva Seen (A Broken Heart)”, Conrad goes back to his roots with a soulful house bop. His early material was all sample-based rap beats (flashback to Yelawolf’s “Down”), but now he’s serving tunes that help dance away the gloomies. If ever there was a ‘happy’ breakup song, this is it. You sense the longing in every string pluck, but no one can ignore the feelgood energy of the perfect soul clap.
General Admission
$
10
- For solo admission
General Admission Household
$
15
- For those joining as a group
Generous Admission
$
20
- General admission plus donation
*a ticket rate that shows you care about the art--and then some