Undesigning Systemic Time for Temporal Liberation

Systemic time is typically mapped as objective time onto clocks, watches, and other artifacts of mechanical clock time, synchronized to a master time that lives at the Greenwich Prime Meridian. The presentation will consider Western linear clock time as a chrono-oppressive system of surveillance, labor regulation, objectification, and punishment for marginalized Black communities specifically, and the temporal technologies Black people have developed to subvert, re-envision, reclaim, redesign, undesign, and dismantle the material realities of clock time and culture in their lives and communities. The presentation will highlight recent projects by Phillips and Black Quantum Futurism Collective, such as Time Zone Protocols, Project: Time Capsule, Mmere Dane: Black Time Belt, and CPT Symmetry and Violations that meditate on the future of Black time and Black communal temporalities.

Rasheedah Phillips is a queer housing advocate, parent, writer, interdisciplinary artist, and cultural producer who uses web-based projects, glitch art, zines, short film, archival practices, experimental non-fiction, speculative fiction, printmaking, performance, social practice, installation and creative research to explore the construct of time, temporalities, and community futurisms through a Black futurist cultural lens and experience. Phillips' writing and artwork has appeared in The Funambulist Magazine, Black Futures book, e-flux Architecture, Flash Art Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, Recess Arts, and more. Phillips is the founder of The AfroFuturist Affair, founding member of Metropolarity Queer Speculative Fiction Collective, co-founder of Black Quantum Futurism, co-creator of the award winning Community Futures Lab, and creator Black Women Temporal Portal and Black Time Belt projects. Recognized as a national expert in housing policy, Phillips is a 2016 graduate of Shriver Center Racial Justice Institute, 2018 Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, and 2021 PolicyLink Ambassador for Health Equity. As part of BQF and as a solo artist, Phillips has been awarded an Arts at CERN Residency, Creative Capital award, Vera List Center Fellowship, A Blade of Grass Fellowship, Velocity Fund Fellowship, among others, and has exhibited, presented at, been in residence, and performed at Institute of Contemporary Art London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Serpentine Gallery, Red Bull Arts, Chicago Architecture Biennial and upcoming at Documenta.