Community Building Through Art and Culture

This event is a part of a series of programs that celebrate Black art, community and culture in Vancouver.

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Join us for a lively and engaging panel discussion moderated by Olumoroti (Moroti) Soji-George on building and strengthening Black communities in Vancouver. Soji-George will be joined by Maya Preshyon, Founder of Vancouver Black Library; Buni Kor of Afro Van Connect; and artist Olúwáṣọlá “Sola” Kẹ́hìndé Olówó-Ake.

This panel session will begin with a 5 to 8 minute mindful movement ritual by Melissa Nkomo, certified mindfulness practitioner and the founder of Kunye.

TICKETS

Events are free with an admission ticket ($29) or a membership. Registration required. Your Membership or ticket includes admission to the Gallery (open until 8) and a glass of complimentary wine or beer (19+) at our Lobby Lounge.

 

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Olumoroti (Moroti) Soji-George (He/They) is a curator, film theorist, writer and educator based In Vancouver, BC. Olumoroti is the curator at the Black Arts Centre in Surrey, BC and the artistic director of Gallery Gachet, located in downtown Vancouver. Part of Olumoroti’s curatorial practice revolves around unravelling the nuances regarding the multifaceted ways Blackness is embodied in the arts and conceptualizing the way Black Contemporary artists present a post-modern perspective on the state of Blackness in the current world through their artworks. His research and curatorial practice also involve envisioning accessible and community-centred art spaces, highlighting the stories of individuals in communities who create new monumental environments by challenging the western status quo and state of being.

 

Olúwáṣọlá Kẹ́hìndé Olówó-Ake is a designer, artist, storyteller, poet and an independent researcher. She studied Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University and completed her Master of Design at Emily Carr University. Her design practice focuses on using Yorùbá storytelling methods to tell stories about her experiences as she lives and works in the diaspora and additionally depict these narratives- through dance, song, ways of wearing and poetry. She has a podcast on anchor.fm called ‘…into words with Sola’ and she is the host of a collective called ‘The Writing Circle Project (WCP)’

Recent Exhibition: ‘I see; I breathe; I am’, Surrey Art Gallery, Vancouver, 2022.

Olowo-Ake lives and works on the unceded territories of the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), Skwxwú7mesh-ulh Temíx̱w (Squamish) , S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō) , Stz’uminus and šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam) Nations.

 

Buni Kor (a.k.a Kor Kase) is an actor, artist and activist based in Vancouver, BC. Kor currently invests his time in creating cultural, sustainable initiatives and programs that promote equity, diversity and inclusion within his local community.

 

Maya Preshyon (she/they) is a 21-year-old undergraduate prospective Social Work and Indigenous Studies student at UBC and community/arts organizer. She was born on Vancouver Island on the traditional territories of the Wei Wai Kum Nation and now resides in so-called “vancouver” on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Sel̓íl̓witulh people. She is the founder and Executive Director of the newly opened Vancouver Black Library Foundation. As a Black person who has struggled to find their place in predominantly white spaces, Maya was motivated to cultivate a safe space, resource centre, and workspace for the often overlooked and underserved Black community locally. VBL, centred in the historic Hogan’s Alley area, is a space for BIPOC and by BIPOC.