See How We Run! Art as Agency, Autonomy and Community — with Demi London and Moroti George

Below the Radar

On this episode of See How We Run! we’re joined by Gallery Gachet’s executive Director Demi London and artistic director Moroti George to talk about the evolution of Gachet’s approach to supporting artistic creation and exhibition, in ways that are accessible to and supportive of people facing systemic barriers and social marginalization. We speak about the ways the gallery’s programming and operations changed over time in response to shifts in funding, space and the needs of the community, and we discuss their personal entry points into their work at the gallery. This episode is hosted by SFU VOCE program manager Julia Aoki. Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/see-how-we-run/229-art-as-agency-autonomy-and-community.html Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/229-art-as-agency-autonomy-and-community.html Resources: Gallery Gachet: https://gachet.org/ Dion Smith-Dokkie, This Will Be The First Of A Thousand Worlds: https://gachet.org/current-events-and-exhibitions/dion-smith-dokkie Black Art Centre: https://theblackartscentre.ca/ VANDU: https://vandu.org/ Open Space: https://openspacearts.ca/ Bios: Demi London Traversing through the fields of art, culture, education, and parenting, Demi March London has become attached to experimental emergent spaces and the dialogical aesthetics of administration. Figuring out what ideas look like, and how to talk about them, is an integral part of progressing critical discourse; Demi finds encouragement and hope by advocating for different ways of knowing and being. Galleries and museums have a tendency to be ceremonial spaces for the performance of authority, and Demi has always admired artist-run centres for challenging this and interrogating notions of power and place. As Executive Director at Gachet, Demi aims to foster a reflective and inclusive culture of ideas, discourse, critique, and community – a safe space for creative experimentation and articulating vulnerability. Moroti George Olumoroti (MorotiI) Soji-George (he/they) is a curator, writer and educator based in Vancouver, BC. He is the curator at the Black Arts Centre in Surrey, BC and the artistic director of Gallery Gachet in downtown Vancouver. Olumoroti's curatorial practice primarily involves unravelling and demystifying the ways Blackness is embodied and codified in our shared milieu and conceptualizing the works of Black Contemporary artists and their contributions to the Black cultural lexicon and our understanding of the state of Blackness. His research and curatorial practice also involve envisioning accessible and community-centred art spaces and highlighting the stories of individuals and communities who construct new ways of being that challenge the Western status quo. At the core of his practice is the belief that space could be used to reflect the agency and lived experiences of individuals whose bodies and identities are not typically valued, respected and represented in traditional art and academic settings. Cite this episode: Chicago Style Aoki, Julia. “See How We Run! Art as Agency, Autonomy and Community — with Demi London and Moroti George .” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, December 5, 2023. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/see-how-we-run/229-art-as-agency-autonomy-and-community.html.