JURY
At Global Toronto, we like to do things differently. Instead of an artistic director that chooses participating artists, we work with a five-person jury to hear from as many perspectives as possible. They span different disciplines and roles - from artists, to managers, to media and programming. These five people went through more than 200 artist applications to collectively select the artists showcasing at GT23.
Misha Artebyakin
Drom Taberna, Toronto, Canada
Misha Artebyakin is a co-founder and general manager of Drom Taberna - a live music venue, restaurant, and bar on Queen St. West in Toronto. He built Drom together with his partners - La Palette owners Maria Flatwin and Shamez Amlani - to be a place where people can find community among strangers and joy in the face of adversity. As an immigrant, Artebyakin believes that “home” is less a tangible set of geographic coordinates and more a sense of togetherness and culture, and has dedicated his career to cultivating belonging and a good time.
Marc Fournier
CBC Radio-Canada, Vancouver, Canada
Born in Montreal, Marc Fournier got his first DJ/selector gig in a shack in the mountains of Rwanda as a teenager. Since then, he has been sharing his love for music on stage and on the airwaves in many countries. Based in Vancouver since 1986, he writes articles and reviews on Turtle Island’s Indigenous music for Songlines magazine and works in broadcasting where he's been producing music-oriented programs.
Jo Frost
Consultant, writer and curator, London, UK
Jo Frost has over 30 years’ experience in the music industry working as a music journalist, consultant, curator and networker. Formerly editor of Songlines magazine, where she worked for close to 20 years, Frost is currently the project manager of Global Music Match, the WOMEX Award-winning online artist-development initiative, and she’s the international development trustee for the English Folk Expo. As a fluent French speaker, she was recently invited to participate on the selection committee of the inaugural Babel Music XP in Marseille, France. An internationally-respected authority on music from around the world, Frost has a passion for the arts’ power to connect people.
Sépopo Galley
Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, Montréal, Canada
After a 15-year career in theatre productions at the Festival OFF d'Avignon and in the world of young audience theatre, Sépopo Galley became head of programming for the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique de Montréal and Club Balattou. She is determined to produce live shows and to promote global music artists through her work.
Alejandra Gómez
Biche, Bogotá, Colombia
Alejandra Gómez is the founder and director of Biche, an alternative music production house based in Bogotá and Cali, Colombia, that focuses in the creative and executive development of atypical and avant garde latin sounds. President of MMF LATAM (Music Managers Forum Latin America) and cofounder of the collective Todopoderosa for gender diversity in the Latin independent music scene, she manages Frente Cumbiero and is the booking agent for independent artists including Romperayo, La Perla, El Leopardo, Canalón de Timbiquí, Semblanzas del Río Guapi, Ava Rocha (Brazil) and Son Rompe Pera (Mexico). With over twelve years of experience in the independent music scene, Gómez specializes in the strategic development and internationalization of alternative Latin bands with local identities and futuristic outlooks. She is a DIY publicist, educational agitator, vinyl selector and underground promotor who deeply believes in collaborative and horizontal work.