BY PAUL JUNOR
Gloria O’Koye aka G L Glowz is a creative: writer, storyteller, art educator, and spoken word artist that continues to excel and shine. It has been over 20 years that she has been engaged in the art of storytelling over 10 years as a poet. She has performed in varied settings in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
There are glowing reports about Glowz on the website which mentions her two self-published books, “A Kintsugi Memoir ” and ” Hood Chronicles.” She was described as using the power of her voice to tap into the creativity and ingenuity of the voiceless and unheard in our society. As a multidisciplinary artist she draws on the power of storytelling and artistic expression to shed light on social and cultural realities.
“She utilizes not just the power of her voice in storytelling and poetry, but the pen to share her positive message.”
Glowz is well known to the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper community as her poetry is featured in each edition. She utilizes not just the power of her voice in storytelling and poetry, but the pen to share her positive message of hope, empowerment, resilience, determination, and faith to inspire.
Glowz has been involved in exciting initiatives and projects over the years. She has been working on it since 2019. She is capturing humanity directly, or indirectly impacted by incarceration. She would highlight the work of those working behind bars and ensure they get support. She continues to work on other aspects of “The Human In Us All,” which can be seen on YouTube. In this project she is asking folks to share what made them feel human.
On Monday, March 17th, she participated in the event, “EID Cards for Incarcerated Muslims.” It was held at Steel Workers by Muslim Freedom Fund. This event was important to Glowz as it shows her commitment to reaching out to a diverse audience that are dealing with issues that she knows first-hand. She is willing to help at all times.
On Wednesday, March 19th, she was one of the five panelists who presented at Onsite Gallery. It was titled, “From Community to Gallery: Exploring Contexts of Socially Engaged Arts,” and coincided with the exhibition “Fortitude/Fragile,” which was curated by Magda Gonzalez-Mora. The event featured a screening of a documentary film, which chronicles the process by which the group of racialized and gender diverse artists: Bert Whitecrow, Gloria O’Koye, Neshat Neishabouri, Olympia Trypis, and Susan Jama collaborated. It highlights the creative research process to explore relationships of identities, both personal and collective. It was the first time that her work was being displayed in a gallery.
On Saturday, March 22nd, Glowz was the featured poet as part of the “Woman Scream Canada 2025.” She has been doing speaking engagements focused on story writing. She prefers grassroots event setting as opposed to larger events. She knows that she can have a more personal direct impact when in these smaller spaces.
