The Music Center to Present BLACK PLANETARIUM: UNCHARTED ANTHOLOGIES A New VR And Meditation Experience
Free immersive installation will open October 23 at The Music Center’s new Digital Arts Space in Downtown L.A..
The Music Center will open its new Digital Arts Space on Jerry Moss Plaza with the Los Angeles debut of BLACK PLANETARIUM: UNCHARTED ANTHOLOGIES, a free, immersive virtual reality and meditation experience created by Ethiopian American artist Kidus Hailesilassie, beginning October 23 and running through December 14, 2025.
Merging VR technology, dance, language, and collective reflection, Black Planetarium will invite visitors to experience 6,000 years of African knowledge and tradition through a visionary lens. Within the newly designed Digital Arts Space, guests will use VR headsets to enter a sensory performance by L.A.-based dancer Hvrmony Adams, accompanied by narration in the Twi language from Kumasi-based artist Vida Osei. Inspired by Adowa, a traditional dance practiced by Ashanti communities in Ghana, the installation weaves together 6,500 symbols drawn from 20 African languages into a meditative, cosmic journey of sound, story, and movement.
Each hour, the experience will extend beyond the installation to Jerry Moss Plaza, where a pre-produced meditation sequence will appear on the plaza’s LED screens, offering participants a moment of rest and reconnection beneath the night sky. The space will be adorned with African fabrics and textiles to complement the work’s sensory landscape.
“This exhibition is not only a visual and auditory feast but also a space for rest, reflection, and deep connection,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “Given all the trauma Angelenos have endured throughout the year—from wildfires to civic unrest—Black Planetarium: Uncharted Anthologies provides a welcoming respite to reflect and recharge.”
Winner of the 2025 ARS Electronica S+T+ARTS Prize Africa Award of Distinction, Black Planetarium made its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, where Hailesilassie was among 11 artists featured in the Immersive program. The project also received support from Black Public Media, the MIT Open Documentary Lab, and the Geneva International Film Festival, and will travel to the Beijing International Arts Biennale in January 2026.
“Moving across research, installation, sound, textiles, and virtual reality, Black Planetarium becomes both vessel and constellation—a rehearsal for other worlds,” said Hailesilassie. “It’s a living call and response between the continent and the diaspora, offering imagination as a form of remembering and rebuilding.”
The Music Center’s Digital Innovation Initiative (DII) presents Black Planetarium as part of its ongoing mission to create free digital and virtual reality experiences exploring cultural legacy and connection. Previous DII projects include We ARe Here: A Celebration of Legacy, Our Common Home, and BLKNWS by acclaimed filmmaker Kahlil Joseph.
Black Planetarium: Uncharted Anthologies is supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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