The final day of the Black Sacred Arts Conference began with a vibrant welcome from the Madina Lunsi Royal Drummers of Dagbon, whose powerful rhythms and musical traditions set an uplifting tone for the day’s proceedings. The morning featured rich conversations on the intersections of Christianity, culture, music, performance, and African religious meaning-making, followed by a roundtable that reflected on the challenges and opportunities for interdisciplinary research and collaboration in theology and the arts.
The afternoon concluded the conference with a thought-provoking session exploring ritual, resistance, and justice across the Black Atlantic. Presentations examined themes including Vodou and gentrification in South Florida, symbolic violence and divine communication in Ghanaian Indigenous religions, spirituality and technology in Ghana’s crime-control regime, and the relationship between hunting traditions and human rights in Côte d’Ivoire. Together, the day’s sessions highlighted the depth and diversity of contemporary scholarship on Black sacred arts and religious expression.
Thank you to all of the presenters, performers, moderators, organizers, volunteers, and participants whose contributions made the Black Sacred Arts Conference such a rich, engaging, and successful gathering. We look forward to the conversations and collaborations that will continue long after the conference has come to a close.
