In the Black Fantastic
19 June – 18 September 2022
Myth, science fiction, spiritual traditions and the legacy of Afrofuturism were all sampled, reimagined and recontextualised in In the Black Fantastic.
Encompassing painting, photography, video, sculpture and mixed-media installations, this 2022 exhibition created immersive aesthetic experiences that brought the viewer into a new environment somewhere between the real world and a multiplicity of imagined ones.
While some artists disrupted our understanding of the past, others invited us to imagine fantastical futures. In this exhibition, fantasy became a zone of creative and cultural liberation and a means of addressing racism and social injustice by conjuring new ways of being in the world.
Curated by Ekow Eshun, In the Black Fantastic featured work by 11 contemporary artists from the African diaspora, who draw on science fiction, myth and Afrofuturism to question our knowledge of the world. Those artists were Nick Cave, Sedrick Chisom, Ellen Gallagher, Hew Locke, Wangechi Mutu, Rashaad Newsome, Chris Ofili, Tabita Rezaire, Cauleen Smith, Lina Iris Viktor and Kara Walker.
‘A magnificent experience, spectacular from first to last’
The Observer
‘Powerful, affecting and often very, very beautiful’
Time Out
Exhibition gallery
Podcast series
In the Black Fantastic: Hew Locke x Nick Cave
Artists Nick Cave and Hew Locke come together in this special podcast drawing on the themes of the 2022 Hayward Gallery exhibition, In the Black Fantastic.
In the Black Fantastic: Cauleen Smith x Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Artist Cauleen Smith and musician Ayanna Witter-Johnson discuss the themes of Hayward Gallery’s In the Black Fantastic in this special podcast.
In the Black Fantastic: Lina Iris Viktor x Salena Godden
Artist Lina Iris Viktor and poet Salena Godden discuss the themes of Hayward Gallery’s 2022 exhibition In the Black Fantastic in this special podcast.
In the Black Fantastic: Rashaad Newsome x The Twilite Tone
Listen to artist Rashaad Newsome and DJ and producer The Twilite Tone discuss the themes of Hayward Gallery’s 2022 exhibition In the Black Fantastic.
Articles & videos
In the Black Fantastic: Hew Locke
Artist Hew Locke introduces his practices, and his work which featured in 2022’s Hayward Gallery exhibition, In the Black Fantastic, in a short video interview.
In the Black Fantastic: Lina Iris Viktor
Artist Lina Iris Viktor introduces some of her works which feature in the Hayward Gallery exhibition, In the Black Fantastic in this video interview
In the Black Fantastic: Rashaad Newsome
Artist Rashaad Newsome discusses his approach to his work, including that which featured in Hayward Gallery’s 2022 exhibition In the Black Fantastic.
In the Black Fantastic: Ekow Eshun’s curator tour
Curator of In the Black Fantastic, Ekow Eshun, offers an introductory tour around the 2022 Hayward Gallery exhibition in this video.
5 things to know about In the Black Fantastic
An overview of the 2022 Hayward Gallery exhibition which brought together 11 contemporary artists to sample and reimagine Afrofuturism.
In the Black Fantastic: outdoor art with Ekow Eshun and Cedar Lewisohn
Ekow Eshun and Cedar Lewisohn lead a short video tour of the free outdoor works of In the Black Fantastic, displayed across our buildings in 2022.
Credits & partners
In the Black Fantastic was generously supported by the US Embassy London, Gagosian, Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation, Victoria Miro, David Zwirner, Pilar Corrias and Sprüth Magers.
Dazed was the Media Partner for In the Black Fantastic at the Hayward Gallery.