Activists point out 21 artists in Space is the Place exhibition are white and the other Asian

The organisers of an exhibition inspired by the unlikely bedfellows of the Afrofuturism movement and the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have been criticised for not including a single black artist in its lineup.

Opening in Berlin on Wednesday evening, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien’s Space is the Place exhibition – which takes its name from a song by the avant-garde free jazz group Sun Ra Arkestra – has fallen into “old curatorial habits” that favour white men, according to the activist group Soup du Jour.

In an open letter, the group – an anonymous collective of curators, cultural activists and museum workers that has previously highlighted the dearth of diverse artists shown in Berlin – said the gallery’s curator, Christoph Tannert, was promoting “white muskulinity”.

“So you’re saying that this exhibition aligns itself with the vision of a South African billionaire who wishes to colonise as much territory as possible?” the statement said, alluding to Musk’s stated aim of a settlement of 80,000 people on Mars. “Don’t we know that plot from somewhere? Haven’t we seen that movie before?

“Which 22 artists have you selected to negotiate the slippery slope between Elon Musk and Sun Ra? Which 22 artists could capably and competently reflect on what it means to dream of colonising the universe (à la entrepreneurial oligarchic capital) AND simultaneously manage to compellingly take on the great and visionary legacy not only of Sun Ra and his Arkestra, but also of Afrofuturism in general?”

The group pointed out that of the 22 artists involved in the show, 18 were white men and three were white women, and there was one person of colour, the Singaporean artist Song-Ming Ang, who represented his country at this year’s Venice Biennale.

“We can only congratulate you heartily on managing to successfully man your mission to outer space with a list of artists that deftly marginalises all artists other than white men,” the group said.

Tannert said Künstlerhaus Bethanien hosted “at least 50% female artists, many of them people of colour” on an annual basis. “Curatorial freedom is as valuable as artistic freedom,” he said. “We were interested in a themed exhibition with very specific artworks, including historical works and works with references to socialist modernity.”

Afrofuturism has influenced artists including Kara Walker, musicians such as Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu and authors including Octavia Butler and Ishmael Reed. The Afrofuturist author Ytasha Womack has described the movement as “the intersection between black culture, technology, liberation and the imagination, with some mysticism thrown in too. It can be expressed through film, it can be expressed through art, literature and music. It’s a way of bridging the future and the past and essentially helping to reimagine the experience of people of colour.”

Musk has been approached for comment.