ABOUT US
Building off of the illustrated vision of Carnegie Hall's first-ever commission art piece by interstellar artivist Quentin VerCetty in 2021, AstroSankofa Arts Initiatives brings forward more opportunities and production for Black creatives and youth who work within the realms of Black science and speculative fiction in addition to the five dimensions of Afrofuturism (2.0): metaphysics, aesthetics, theoretical and applied sciences, social science and programmatic spaces. The initiatives include but are not limited to the curation and production of exhibitions, public art installation productions, conventions and panels, and Web3 interventions such as non-fungible token projects and metaverse expeditions. Each initiative will reinstate the power of arts and the Black community's connection to their ancestral roots to improve the future.
AstroSankofa Arts Initiatives is also the managing entity for the Black Speculative Arts Movement Canada ®©™ activities and events, founded by Quentin VerCetty in 2016.
Inspired by the work of Afrofuturist music icon June Tyson's Astro-Black mythology and the West African Akan people's proverb and semiotic adinkra symbol known as sankofa, which means to learn from the past in order to inform the future. The word “astrosankofa” was coined by the incorporation's founder artivist Quentin VerCetty when he was the first ever artist to be commissioned by Carnegie Hall foundation making an art piece of that name.
Meet the Team
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrea PEACHTREE Boucaud
Co-Chair
Andrea Boucaud, (known to many as ‘Peachtree’) has worked within the community development, small business, and arts spaces for over 20 years. She current focus on regenerative growing practices, seed saving, beekeeping, community gardens, farmers markets, green employment, herbal medicines and all ways food and land intersect with equity and representation.
Zamani RA
Co-Chair
Zamani Ra is the Executive Director of CEED Canada. Her organization provides environmental education workshops to Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURB) residents and property owners in social housing communities. RA aim is to increase climate action among tenants and encourage them to use their local footsteps to reduce our global imprint
Saran James-Vaughan
Director
is the Founder of Wellness By Saran, a full-service Holistic Wellness Education platform dedicated to Menstrual Health and a Decolonized Approach to Well-being. Saran is a Culture Curator, creating safe learning spaces at the intersection of Wellness, Art and Culture - she is also an investor in the Web3 space. She facilitates programmes and workshops for Black Youth in the Afro Diasporic Community, centred around Cultural Identity and Wellness.
Sarah Musa
Secretary
A poet, copy editor, digital marketing and advertising professional. Musa has years of experience of working with different clients and entities with a focus of empowering and amplifying marginalized voices.
Courdell Baker
Treasurer
With a long standing freelance experience with consulting and investing in stocks and cryptocurrency. Baker has worked as an consultant and investor for numerous start up companies and established enterprises and philanthropists.