The Role of the Artist is to make the Revolution Irresistible: Ja’Tovia Gary

Diaspora Babes

Ja’Tovia shares the quotation from Toni Cade Bambara, “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” She also shares her thoughts on cyclical time, looking back to move forward, Afro-surrealism, her relationship with Orishas Yemaya and Oshun, centering Black women in her work, and much more. From her website: Ja’Tovia M. Gary (b. Dallas, TX. 1984) is an artist and filmmaker currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Gary’s work seeks to liberate the distorted histories through which Black life is often viewed while fleshing out a nuanced and multivalent Black interiority. Through documentary film and experimental video art, Gary charts the ways structures of power shape our perceptions around representation, race, gender, sexuality, and violence. The artist earned her MFA in Social Documentary Filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Www.jatovia.com IG @j_______g_______ Twitter @jatovia Follow the podcast on Instagram @diasporababes Music by Layle Omeran