Both those films will screen this evening in London alongsideAn Ecstatic Experience(2015).
She was calling from her new base in New Orleans, Louisiana and the conversation was wide-ranging and lengthy.
Gary is repped by WME for film and television.
Ja’Tovia Gary.Courtesy of Ciara Elle Bryant
Check out a condensed version of the conversation below.
DEADLINE: JaTovia, how are you?
JATOVIA GARY:Im doing well.
The Giverny DocumentCourtesy of Ja’Tovia Gary and Paula Cooper Gallery
Even when things seem upside down, its important to expect the best possible outcome.
Im in the middle of lots of transitions.
Ive just moved to New Orleans and I turned 40.
I do this every few years.
I take stock of everything.
But Im doing well.
Im reading some interesting books.
DEADLINE: What are you reading?
GARY:I just finished revisiting Octavia ButlersParable of the Sower.
Theres this really cute bookstore near me called Baldwin & Co., named for James Baldwin.
Im waiting for them to receiveParable of the Talents, which is part two.
That was when it seemed your work really began to attract great attention.
What did it feel like to in some ways become a famous artist during such an unstable time?
GARY:Thats an interesting question because, at that time, I had stepped back.
I had left New York.
Then this work hit at a really interesting time.
I was leaving New York City.
Id gone to Boston for Harvards Radcliffe fellowship.
After that, something told me not to go back to New York.
So to answer your question, Id remove myself from the equation because Im not famous.
Beyonce, thats fame.
And I want nothing to do with that.
Still, I do have a big personality.
Im very much a Leo and Im ready for the applause.
The flip side to being a public figure is that you must be ready for the critique.
I wrestle with that often.
DEADLINE: I read you used to be an actor.
What did you act in?
GARY:I was doing theater.
I had a few ridiculous commercials.
I have a Walmart commercial.
It was like a back-to-school supplies commercial.
DEADLINE: You studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York?
What was New York like back then?
Was it a fruitful experience?
Because I often speak with Black filmmakers and artists who tell me they feel quite isolated.
GARY:Both can be true at once.
There are moments where I definitely feel like Im in a silo.
On the flip side, I was blessed to be part of several creative communities.
I was Black and in Brooklyn at the time.
So it was an incredible opportunity to learn, experiment, and engage.
That was Brooklyn then.
I dont know what its giving now.
I will say that it wasnt perfect in Brooklyn.
It was very difficult at the time.
There were all types of state violence, of course.
Works likeAn Ecstatic Experiencewere a response to the things we were seeing in the streets.
DEADLINE: So you finish SVA and begin working in the film sphere.
At what point do you turn your back on the film world and move to the gallery space?
GARY:People say that thats whats happened but I dont see it as such.
But I also make films.
I made a film in 2023 calledQuiet as Its Keptwhich was screened at festivals.
But it also screened in the art space.
To me, its not about turning my back on the film space.
Its about opening myself up to all spaces and all opportunities for distribution.
All opportunities for audience engagement.
Its about how else I can show up and take up space.
I dont feel like Ive turned my back on the film industry.
If anything, it feels like the film industry believes Im just somewhere else doing something else.
But I have been quietly editing a film for 10 years.
Im still very much making films.
I consider myself an artist and a filmmaker.
DEADLINE: Thats such an interesting answer.
GARY:And there are so many new ones coming up.
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, Garrett Bradley, Cauleen Smith, and Chris Harris, who just did the Whitney Biennial.
DEADLINE: Your work is concerned with Blackness.
Its Black art for Black audiences.
How do you reconcile showing this work in the gallery space which is traditionally overwhelmingly white?
Theyre like Oh, she brought the hood.
Whenever I have a show its not going be the regular audience.
Its going to be my audience.
So what happens is that this white space becomes increasingly black.
So yes, the gallery is traditionally a white space.
DEADLINE:How are you feeling about the show?
GARY:Im really excited.
This is my first time in London.
DEADLINE: Oh, wow.
GARY:I know, most people are shocked.
Its because I de-prioritized Europe for much of my life.
When I started traveling, I was going to Africa and the Caribbean.
So I am incredibly excited for this trip.
DEADLINE: You signed with WME in 2022 for film and TV.
Are you interested in working in Hollywood?
GARY:I cant talk about WME because my agent left.
But Hollywood is of interest.
Im interested in a lot of things.
I have a critical view of the art world as well as the independent film world.
To me, theyre all spaces of contention.
They are critical terrains where we are wrestling.
I see Hollywood much the same.
Its just so deeply entrenched.
Can I be unbought and unbossed in the space?
I havent had a real chance to test that out yet.
Well see though in the next few years.
