The Asian Library exhibit Space Fantasy: Nagaoka Shusei’s Contributions to Afrofuturist Visual Culture showcases the visionary universe of the diasporic Japanese illustrator Nagaoka Shusei through album covers, interviews, artworks, and books highlighting his legacy in Japan. This exhibit, which notably includes the first known example of Afrofuturistic artwork attributed to Nagaoka, will run from February 12^th to April 30^th on the Upper Level of the Asian Library. A virtual exhibit, self-paced guide, and audio tour for this display will be made available on the Asian Library blog.

This exhibit is co-hosted with Dr. Nathan Hesselink from the UBC School of Music, whose recent publication in The Journal of American Culture sharing the same title as this display provides an analysis of Nagaoka Shūsei’s life, career, legacy, and artistic collaboration with the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The display also  incorporates contributions from Music, Art & Architecture Library and Koerner Library.

Join us on Wednesday, February 26^th for these related events:

• Music streaming from the albums on display: 10am-12:30pm, Asian Library Upper Floor
• Talk by Dr. Nathan Hesselink: 12:30pm-2:00pm, Asian Centre Auditorium (lecture information here)
• Guided display tour with Dr. Nathan Hesselink: 2:30pm, Asian Library Upper Floor (no registration required)