Skip to main content

This exhibition is no longer on view. See what’s on at SAM.

John Akomfrah: Future History

Mar 5–Sep 7 2020

Seattle Art Museum

Unusual film productions are John Akomfrah’s medium. In this solo exhibition, three of his works offer provocative visions of the past, present, and future. Tropikos is set in the 16th century and offers a careful look at how Africans and Europeans interacted at this time of extreme change in human history. Vertigo Sea is presented on multiple screens, creating an epic voyage around the world to witness both aquatic grandeur and tragedies at sea. Mixing archival and recent footage, graceful underwater scenes collide with traumatic moments of damage we do to other species and to ourselves. The Last Angel of History was conceived in the early days of the internet, and features a data thief who sets out to find keys to the future by interviewing visionary artists and space explorers.

Support for this exhibition was made possible by
Contributors to the SAM Fund

Related events

Nothing to see here, check back soon!

See what’s on at SAM


What’s on at Seattle Art Museum

Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei

Mar 12–Sep 7 2025

Seattle Art Museum

Tariqa Waters: Venus is Missing

May 7 2025–Jan 4 2026

Seattle Art Museum

FriendsWithYou: Little Cloud Sky

Jun 27 2025–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Lessons from the Institute of Empathy

Mar 31 2018–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Diego Cibelli: Fiori dei Miei Habiti / La Montagne EnchantĂŠe

May 31 2024–May 10 2026

Seattle Art Museum

Yirrkala: Art from Australia’s Top End

May 10 2024–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Impressionisms: The Global Nineteenth Century

Mar 27 2024–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

SAM on Paper: Rembrandt’s Etchings

Mar 27 2024–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

American Art: The Stories We Carry

Oct 20 2022–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Chronicles of a Global East

Oct 20 2022–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Pacific Species

Dec 22 2022–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art

Nov 10 2018–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Art and Life Along the Northwest Coast

Nov 26 2014–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Conscious Constructions

Apr 29 2011–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Only Connect: The Art of Devotion

Apr 29 2011–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Porcelain Room

May 5 2007–ongoing

Seattle Art Museum

Ash-Glazed Ceramics from Korea and Japan

Jul 9 2025–Jul 12 2027

Seattle Art Museum

Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism

Oct 23 2025–Jan 18 2026

Seattle Art Museum

Samantha Yun Wall: 2024 Betty Bowen Award Winner

Feb 4–Aug 4 2026

Seattle Art Museum

Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest

Mar 5–Aug 2 2026

Seattle Art Museum

Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan

May 13 2026–Jan 3 2027

Seattle Art Museum