Ja'Tovia Gary facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ja'Tovia Gary
Ja'Tovia Gary in 2014
Born	Dallas, Texas
Nationality	American
Education	Brooklyn College (BA) School of Visual Arts (MFA)
Known for	Filmmaking, interdisciplinary art
Notable work	The Giverny Document (2019)
Awards	New Orleans Film Festival Audience Award, Best Experimental Short (2018) New Orleans Film Festival Special Jury Award (2016)

Ja'Tovia Gary is a talented American artist and filmmaker. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her amazing films and art pieces are shown in famous museums. These include the Whitney Museum and the Studio Museum of Harlem. She is most known for her documentary film, The Giverny Document (2019). This film won many awards at big film festivals!

Growing Up and School

Ja'Tovia Gary was born in Dallas, Texas. She grew up in Cedar Hill, a nearby town. Her family was part of a Pentecostal church community. As a student, she loved being in local theater groups. She later graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.

Gary first wanted to be an actress. But she soon felt disappointed by the types of roles she was offered. So, she decided to go to Brooklyn College. There, she earned two degrees. One was in Documentary Film Production. The other was in Africana Studies.

Later, she earned a master's degree (MFA) in Social Documentary Filmmaking. She studied at the School of Visual Arts. She also has a special certificate in Documentary Filmmaking. She got this from the LV Prasad Academy in Chennai, India.

Her Work as a Filmmaker

Ja'Tovia Gary's films often explore themes about Black women's experiences. She looks at the history of these topics. She often uses old film clips in her work. For example, her 2015 short film An Ecstatic Experience used clips of actress Ruby Dee. It also included an interview with Assata Shakur. She called this special way of combining clips "direct animation."

In 2016, Gary went to a special art program. It was in Giverny, France. While there, she made a short film called Giverny I (Négresse Impériale). This film mixed videos of herself with footage filmed by Philando Castile's girlfriend. This was right after he was shot by a police officer. This film is also part of her 2019 documentary, The Giverny Document. This longer film explores what it means to be a Black woman today. The film was highly praised and won many awards.

Gary has talked about how she makes her films. She said she is "creating and destroying" at the same time. She also said she is "remaking and unmaking." She likes to interact closely with old film archives. This helps her feel connected to history. It also helps her question it.

Gary has also worked behind the scenes on other films. She helped with Spike Lee's Bad 25. She also worked on Shola Lynch's Free Angela and All Political Prisoners. She was an assistant editor for Jackie Robinson. This was a two-part documentary directed by Ken Burns and others. It first showed on PBS in 2016.

Her work has received financial help from many groups. These include the Creative Capital award and the Sundance Institute. In 2022, she received a special Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

Other Projects

In 2008, Ja'Tovia Gary was in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. She played a character named Cherise Glover.

In 2013, Gary helped start the New Negress Film Society. This group is made up of Black women filmmakers. They want to build a community. They also want to make sure Black female voices are heard in the film industry.

She has also taught filmmaking. She taught at The New School and Mono No Aware in New York City.

From 2018 to 2019, Gary was a special fellow at Harvard University. Her art is shown by Paula Cooper Gallery in New York. It is also shown by Galerie Frank Elbaz in Paris.

Where Her Work Has Been Shown

Ja'Tovia Gary's films have been shown at many film festivals. These include the Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Her work has also been shown in museums and art centers. Some of these are the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In 2020, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles showed her film The Giverny Document. The Paula Cooper Gallery in New York also presented it.

Permanent Art Collections

Ja'Tovia Gary's art is part of the permanent collections of several museums. This means her work is kept there forever. Some of these places are the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Studio Museum in Harlem. In 2018, the Whitney Museum released a video. In it, artist Shellyne Rodriguez talked about Gary's film An Ecstatic Experience.

Awards and Honors

Ja'Tovia Gary has received many awards and honors for her work:

• 2017 - Named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Filmmaking" by Filmmaker Magazine.
• 2018 - Became a Radcliffe Institute Fellow at Harvard University.
• 2019 - Received a Field of Vision Fellowship.
• 2019 - Won a Creative Capital award.
• 2022 - Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Films and Videos

Documentaries

Music Videos

Other Film Work

Video Games

Awards for Her Films

See also

• Black Women Filmmakers