Worldmaking from the Margins

Abstract This article explores two major recent exhibitions in the United States—The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica at the Art Institute of Chicago—to examine how contemporary curatorial practices reimagine Black identity, solidarity, and history through the concept of worldmaking. Drawing from philosophical and theoretical frameworks articulated by Nelson Goodman, Fred Moten, and Adom Getachew, the article analyzes how each exhibition uniquely challenges traditional historical narratives, colonial temporalities, and spatial boundaries. By examining Black figuration, Pan-Africanism, and artistic interventions, the article highlights how Black artists actively construct alternative worlds through creative, political, and speculative practices. Ultimately, it argues that these exhibitions move beyond mere representation or visibility toward dismantling and reimagining the very structures of colonial representation, offering dynamic visions of Black life as continuously unfolding possibilities.