Atonal Symphonies: Conversations on Blackness and Liquidity at the Threshold of Thinking and Making The first three issues of liquid blackness: journal of aesthetics and black studies address the journal’s foundational concerns: liquidity, blackness, and aesthetics. You are invited to a two-day virtual event to celebrate the publication of the first two issues, on “liquidity” (5.1) and “blackness” (5.2, forthcoming October 2021). This informal conversation will bring together the artists and scholars that contributed to these two issues, who will collectively reflect on the process of writing and editing experimental and un-disciplined work. Each issue of liquid blackness is conceived as a musical ensemble, an “atonal symphony,” in the words of John Akomfrah, gathering contributions that ranges in style, genre, mode, and length and is organized by tone and pace. Thus, issues are organized into sections that create pathways to collaborative and audacious work and a rich exchange that occurs across the journal pages: “Studies in Black” assembles various modes of black study; “Critical Art Encounters” offers sustained engagements with contemporary artworks; the “Accent Marks” section indicates shifts that emphasize possible lines of flight; “In Conversation” features a dialogue with practitioners or theorists. To make this work and its connections available to audiences inside and outside of academic and art institutions—and keeping with the journal’s commitment to open access—the “Atonal Symphonies” event will stream on the liquid blackness YouTube and FaceBook beginning on the evening of September 16 and continuing all day on September 17. Link<https://liquidblackness.com/events/atonal-symphonies-conversations-on-blackness-and-liquidity-at-the-threshold-of-thinking-and-making> to the Event. Schedule Thursday, Sept 16 @ 6:30pm-8pm Thomas F. DeFrantz RA Judy Sampada Aranke Friday, Sept 17 @ 11:00 am - 12:30pm Kristin Juarez Kevin Jerome Everson Ekow Eshun Marina Peterson Friday, Sept 17 @ 2pm - 3:30pm Michael Boyce Gillespie and Lisa Uddin Rinaldo Walcott Grant Farred Mark Anthony Neal Friday, Sept 17 @ 5pm - 6:30pm James Gordon Williams Suné Woods Fred Moten Walton Muyumba Moderated by the liquid blackness: journal of aesthetics and black studies Editorial Board Alessandra Raengo Lauren McLeod Cramer Charles “Chip” Linscott Derek Conrad Murray James Tobias Calvin Warren Register on Eventbrite<https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/atonal-symphonies-conversations-on-blackness-and-liquidity-tickets-168122479863> Sponsorship: This event is organized with the support of Department of Film and Media Studies at Emory University. Atonal Symphonies is also supported by the Black Research Network at the University of Toronto and the Cinema Studies Institute; both stand in solidarity with the CAUT censure (see censureuoft.ca<https://censureuoft.ca/>) and recognize that the protection of academic freedom and the fights against bias, chauvinism, anti-black racism are often incumbent upon the extraordinary labor and energy of those in the most precarious positions. The event is hosted by the liquid blackness project (Liquid Blackness, Limited) based in Atlanta, GA. ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite https://screensite.org/