With less than a week away, the world-renowned festival, AFROPUNK has announced the programming for it’s inaugural AFROPUNK SOLUTION SESSIONS ATLANTA LIVE occurring at this years third edition of AFROPUNK Presents the Carnival of Consciousness Atlanta. Taking place once again at Atlanta’s 787 Windsor complex, it’s as much an idea, music, and arts festival as a blank space to be communally created. At this carnival, a diverse group of like-minded people come together to exchange innovative ideas, and form a new kind of immersive gathering. Performers for this year’s Carnival will include N.E.R.D, Death Grips, Sango, Benjamin Booker, Rico Nasty and others on Saturday, October 13th; and Kaytranada, The Internet, Pusha-T, Joi, Noname and many more on Sunday, October 14th.
A huge array of DJ’s has also been added to the festival line-up to keep the vibe going until the early hours each night. Sets will come from Tygapaw, Florista, OHSO, 10th Letter, Sofa King Evil, Say3, JSport, Violet Waters and many more.
AFROPUNK SOLUTION SESSIONS
AFROPUNK SOLUTION SESSIONS ATLANTA LIVE – a social forum, platform and unique space within the weekend’s programming turned critically acclaimed podcast, will return for its third Atlanta installment, hosted by veteran social activist, BRIDGET TODD, and writer YVES JEFFCOAT. These curated talks feature dynamic orators & personalities addressing audiences on a myriad of topics, issues, and concepts.
The weekend’s programming will kick-off on Saturday, October 13th, with a set of special conversations hosted by PATRISSE CULLORS and BLACK LIVES MATTER ATLANTA in celebration of the Fifth Anniversary of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, which has risen from a hashtag to one of the most influential social justice and resistance movements in the world today. Programming will highlight Atlanta artists and activists and will feature community conversations, including ART AS RESISTANCE: ATL GOT SOMETHIN TO SAY and part one of the WE ARE THE ONES WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR series – BLM: 5 YEARS OF RESISTANCE. Saturday’s participants will include artist, organizer and Black Lives Matter co-founder PATRISSE CULLORS, and members of BLM ATLANTA, including scholar and photographer Tiffany R. Smith, artist and founder of Initiate Justice, Richard Edmond-Vargas, plus others. (Read Patrisse’s words on BLM’s 5th anniversary, HERE).
Sunday’s program will include part two of the WE ARE THE ONES WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR, which will focus on LGBTQ+ rights and Trans identity. The day’s program will close with a discussion around voter rights, community rights, and the impact of midterm elections, and will include Stefanie Brown James, co-founder/senior advisor of The Collective, plus others.
AFTER DARK
Each year The Carnival of Consciousness curates and hosts AFTER DARK events that consist of special late-night, on-site dance parties “with a purpose,” set to go until 1am each day.
Saturday will feature the Trap Heals: Experience, a juxtaposition of the mainstream perception of “The Trap” against an unlikely backdrop of provocative art, lush greenery, femme Trap selectors, Counter-Culture performances and above all, the community. Trap Heals is building new frameworks of how space is built within the spectrum of Blackness for collective healing, in partnership between Black Collar Crime, Damon Davis and BLM Atlanta. Sunday’s program will close with a celebration of all things LGBTQIA+. The space will be curated by Afrekete, Spelman College’s first LGBTQ organization, and BLM Atlanta.
AFROPUNK ARMY
In a time where co-opting resistance movements or crafting witty hashtags are common marketing tactics devised for the sole purpose of driving profits, AFROPUNK continues to reaffirm its commitment to creating spaces that build and support community. Even as the brand expands from its Brooklyn roots into the global arena due to its increased popularity, the festival continues an affordable paid- and earned-ticket program. The initiative, called AFROPUNK (AP) ARMY, is part of the AFROPUNK Global Initiative (AGI) which gives fans the opportunity to gain admittance to the iconic festival in exchange for volunteering and community service.
AFROPUNK works closely with nonprofit partners and the Chip’N app to provide volunteer activities and projects for fans to complete in exchange for a ticket to the festival (a minimum of 5 hours of volunteer work will earn ONE General Admission Single Day Pass). The volunteer program creates awareness for organizations in need, provides access to an engaged pool of valuable resources, and helps deliver sustainable impact to communities. Sample projects include working to plant, harvest and weed at local urban gardens & farms; helping to get out the vote in Georgia with phone banking, or taking social actions through a unique digital advocacy program on the Propeller platform. The program ends October 10th. For more information click here
ACTIVISM ROW
One of the best things about the AFROPUNK festival are its community-driven initiatives. Activism Row is an interactive, site-specific educational installation featuring grassroots non-profits that attempt to solve urgent community problems. Activism Row’s goal is to inform youth about civic participation opportunities. This year participating organizations include Equal Justice Initiative, Black Lives Matter Atlanta, Georgia WAND, Headcount, Sons and Brothers, Atlanta Jobs With Justice and Solutions Not Punishments Collaborative.
AFROPUNK could not be possible without the support of our partners and sponsors. Entering its fourth year in partnership with AFROPUNK, Toyota is back with it’s groundbreaking sustainability program, the Toyota Green Initiative, also known as TGI. At the TGI footprint, concert-goers will the have opportunity to check out Toyota’s newest hybrid vehicles as well as partake in various seminars and games rooted in healthy-living with TGI coalition members, Yoli Ouiya, Laz Alonso, Stic from Dead Prez, Rob Veggies, and Mali Hunter.As a brand whose purpose is to inspire exceptional generosity in all forms, Crown Royal is proud to support AFROPUNK and to be a part of the festival’s mission to bring acceptance, artistry and inspiration to people from all walks of life. With AFROPUNK long known for community-driven initiatives and activism for cultural change and social justice, the number-one selling Canadian whisky brand in the world is honored to support these messages of generosity and encourages festival goers to celebrate responsibly.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Purcell