ABOUT

NationX is an expansive and immersive multi-platform storyworld project that centers on an uncharted, unconquered island nation whose Maroon-descended inhabitants, having only ever known freedom, want nothing less than freedom for the entire Black diaspora. 

Co-created by Shawn Taylor (Nerds of Color, Pop Culture Collaborative Senior Fellow); Aisha Shillingford and Terry Marshall (Intelligent Mischief); Nazareth Hassan (Dramatist Guild Young Playwright Award; Theatretreffen Stueckemarkt 2019); and Geoffrey Jackson Scott (Peoplmovr) based on an original concept by Shillingford and Marshall, NationX is a collective visioning of Black utopia.

Phase one of NationX, launching on 15 January, 2021 is a first of its kind 24-hour immersive experience celebrating Black speculative futures, Black joy, and Black liberation. Featuring sets by DJs BMAJR, JADALAREIGN, and BAE BAE, NationX was born of longing. A longing for refuge, relief, a space to dream, and for sanctuary. A longing for safety in our bodies so that we might just breathe, move without hindrance, vibe, to just be...free. 

NationX emerges from the intersecting crises of 2020. These thought leaders started gathering earlier last year as part of the Pop Culture Collaborative’s recently announced Becoming America Fund and were brought together by experiential pioneer Mikhael Tara Garver (13Exp) to develop cultural interventions to address the crises. NationX is the first of many such interventions.