Walking the Path of the Afrofuturist...Afrofuturism is as much about transforming today as it is about building for the future. Future building transforms the present. In this workshop, Ytasha L. Womack, author of "Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy Culture" discusses how she came to write The Afrofuturist Evolution and the points of change and contemplation one considers when coming to understand Afrofuturism and futures thinking.

Ytasha L. Womack is an award-winning author, director, independent scholar, and dance therapist. Ytasha lectures on Afrofuturism and the imagination for audiences around the world and was a cocurator of Carnegie Hall’s Afrofuturism Festival, a nationwide arts festival, in 2022. Her book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi & Fantasy Culture (Chicago Review Press) is a leading primer on the subject and is a 2014 Locus Awards Nonfiction Finalist. Her follow up, The Afrofuturist Evolution: Creative Paths to Self-Discovery, (Chicago Review Press) debuted in March 2025. She wrote and produced the award-winning Afrofuturist and science animation and immersive experience Niyah and the Multiverse for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. The film continues to run at planetariums around the world. Her graphic novella Black Moon Ritual, an ode to sustainable energy, debuted March 2026 and is now part of the Protopias Collection (AWA Studios/Futurific) anthology. Her book Spider-Man/Miles Morales – An Exploration (Bloomsbury) debuted in June 2026.

She’s also featured in the documentary Afrofuturism: An Origin Story produced in partnership with the National Museum of History and Culture (Smithsonian). She contributed essays to the Smithsonian’s book Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures and was featured in the museum’s first of its kind exhibit of the same name.

Her book Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration (Becker & Mayer) debuted in October 2023 and her debut graphic novel Blak Kube, illustrated by Tanna Tucker, debuts in 2027 (Megascope/Abrams). Ytasha’s other works include the sci fi novel Rayla 2212, the Kickstarter project A Spaceship in Bronzeville as well as the nonfiction books Post Black, and Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love & Hate About Hip Hop. Ytasha’s films include the Afrofuturist dance film A Love Letter to the Ancestors From Chicago (director) and Couples Night (screenwriter). She cocurated the Adler Planetarium’s Afrofuturism Nights and their Rayla 2212 dance, music, and augmented reality experiences. She created and hosts Afrofuturism Dance experiences and workshops, a merging of dance and futures thinking, for youth and adults. She’s also a narrative director at HeadMaze, an immersive installation to be launched in 2028.

Ytasha was an inaugural resident for Black Rock Senegal helmed by artist Kehinde Wiley in Dakar and showcased her zine Liquid at the 2022 Dakar Biennial. Other residencies include serving as writer in resident for WOW Festival in Liverpool, Kickstarter, and Emerson College. Her short story Liquid Twilight is featured in the 2023 World Fantasy Award winning anthology Africa Risin. She also has essays featured in the books Black Cinema & Visual Culture, MIT’s Make Shift: Dispatches From the Post Pandemic, Boogie Down Predictions: Hip Hop and Afrofuturism, and the graphic novel Matty’s Rocket. Ytasha was also listed as a design innovator in the book The Black Experience in Design: Identity Expression and Reflection. Ytasha has a BA in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University and studied Media Management at Columbia College Chicago. She loves house music and drinks an abundance of tea.