“My name is Kemi Craig, I am an interdisciplinary artist living and working in the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ people also known as Victoria, BC. My work centers collective storytelling through the use of movement, analogue film, and digital projections. Through a variety of media such as these, I investigate embodiment and futures of Black Indigenous and People of Colour.

This year, I have been invited to develop a program which builds on the work of artist Denyse Thomasos, whose paintings are currently on exhibition at the AGGV. Thomasos’s work speaks to the experience of the African diaspora and more broadly to the structures that confine and define us, while also offering a sense of hope. In reference to her work chief curator Jaime Isaac referred to this collection/exhibition as Blueprints for the Afrofuture.

By inviting Black artists from across BC, we want to come together and construct what this future looks, feels, and sounds like. Throughout the year we will partner guest artists and collectives from a range of disciplines with one another to imagine together and create art/offerings which could then be shared with the public. The process acts as an embodied practice of what it looks like when our various Black communities, organizations and individuals have the opportunity to gather and support each other through collective imagining, shared labor and resources.

Some of the artists we will be working with include visual artist Charles Campbell, DJ Nova Jade (aka Tera Green), dance artist Justine Chambers, photographer Joshua Ngenda, Electronic Sound Collective Hidden Variable and writer Angie Riley to name a few.

The importance of recognizing Blackness in BC is creating more fulsome perspectives and knowledge benefitting all people across these territories. So some of the questions I hope to answer alongside you, the community and these artists are: Why is the act of gathering so important? Where are the places where we can connect? How do we connect our various communities? What kinds of spaces do we need? How do we learn about and support local Black presence and experiences?”

Learn more: https://aggv.ca/curatorial-projects/b…

Music accompaniment courtesy of Electronic Sound Collective Hidden Variable: https://mealbreaks.bandcamp.com/track…

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is located on the traditional territory of the lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples, today known as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. We extend our gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to live and work on this territory.

Videography and editing by Marina DiMaio.”My name is Kemi Craig, I am an interdisciplinary artist living and working in the unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ people also known as Victoria, BC. My work centers collective storytelling through the use of movement, analogue film, and digital projections. Through a variety of media such as these, I investigate embodiment an …