Black Planetarium: Uncharted Anthologies

Through breath, movement, sound, and shared listening, Black Planetarium from Ethiopian American artist Kidus Hailesilassie invites audiences into a collective rehearsal for other worlds of Pan-African knowledge-making. Rooted in 6,000 years of African traditions, this new work from Hailesilassie transforms the Digital Arts Space at The Music Center into a living constellation of textiles, moving image, installation and virtual reality. Extending Hailesilassie’s Ancestral Algorithm (2020)—a cartography of 6,500 symbols from 20 African languages—the Black Planetarium exhibition was reimagined with Ghanaian choreographer Elisabeth Efua Sutherland through the algo-rhythms of Adowa, the Ashanti community dance where the body itself becomes an archive. More than an exhibition, Black Planetarium is a vessel for ancestral memory and a space for rest, connection and imagination. Step inside shaded textile environments, meditative soundscapes and a VR journey that brings centuries of language and dance to life.