Cox First Media explores region’s many connections to Afrofuturism arts movement

For Black History Month, our Ideas & Voices section highlighted our area’s many contributions to Afrofuturism and how we, as a region, can improve to better support our Black artists and communities.

How we did this: On Feb. 4, we launched the project with Russell Florence’s story that explored the history of the Afrofuturism arts movement and its many connections to Dayton, in addition to three contributors who wrote guest columns on the topic. Then, on Feb. 18, we followed up with three local artist to go beyond imagining the future and to discuss what can be done to help create that better future. Finally, on Feb. 28, we held a Community Conversation featuring a panel of Black artists to share their experiences and hopes for the future.

Why we are doing this: Our content team strives to use our platform to shine a line on our region’s artists’ achievements to ensure they receive the recognition they deserve, as well as find ways to give future generations of artists new opportunities to succeed and be proud to call Dayton their home.

Read the story: Go here for the project launch story, and see a list of our Ideas & Voices contributing columnists at the bottom of the page.

More to come: We value minority voices year-round, not just during Black History Month. Key questions arose in our Community Conversations: Does Dayton have an archival issue? What resources and grant opportunities are available for artists in our region? How can we better extend arts education into our public schools?