Living a Life While Decolonizing the Mind

Episode 1:
Living a Life while Decolonizing the Mind
with
Nao Bustamante, Todd Gray, Gelare Khoshgozaran, and Jennifer Moon
Moderated by Mario Ontiveros

In this conversation, the artists explore the challenges of sustaining a creative life, from managing the pressures to make a living, to pushing against prevailing models of the “artist” and the for-profit art world, to practicing self-care. The discussion addresses teaching, mentoring, and sharing as ways to enact creative communities and build supportive relationships to effect change.

“For the revolution, stay ready so you don’t have to get ready,” says Nao Bustamante.

This session was recorded in December 2019, before the Covid-19 global pandemic and uprising for racial justice upended our lives. It was only 6 months ago, but it feels like a day less than eternity. And yet, you will hear how this conversation remains relevant: the pandemic, the protests, the police violence, and the failures of the government have shed more light on the intersection of inequity, systemic racism, and injustice that compels the work of these artists.

The artists might not address the protests directly in the talk—but they lay out strategies for effecting change into the future.

Find more info about the artists and the podcast here.