From Selma to Queen Sugar to When They See Us to whatever the hell else has dominated the pop culture landscape, Ava Duvernay has made it her mission to bang us in the head with an endless ARRAY— (see what I did there?)—of dope content. And after conquering the film and television industry, the 48-year-old Oscar nominee is extending her magic touch to include the wonderful world of podcasts.
On Thursday, Spotify announced a multi-year partnership with the award-winning filmmaker, and together they’ll produce exclusive scripted and unscripted original audio programming through Ava’s multi-platform arts and social impact collective, ARRAY.
Y’all already know that Ava doesn’t play when it comes to prioritizing the agency and creative expression of Black folks and other people of color in Hollywood, so with her tapping into Spotify’s expansive resources and over 320 million monthly active users around the world, it’s only matter of time before the 13th director unleashes our latest podcast addiction.
“Recognizing the undeniable power of voice and sound, I’m thrilled to extend ARRAY’s storytelling into the realm of podcasts,” she said in a statement provided to The Root. “The opportunity to work with [Gimlet Media’s Managing Director] Lydia Polgreen and her passionate team drew us to Spotify as a home for our audio narratives and we couldn’t be more excited to begin this new creative journey.”
Spotify’s Gimlet studio will assist ARRAY in developing and delivering these scripted and unscripted narrative podcasts. This effort will be overseen by ARRAY Filmworks president Sarah Bremner.
“Ava DuVernay and her team at ARRAY are at the forefront of telling powerful stories about the most pressing issues of our time,” Polgreen said in a statement provided to The Root. “We’re so excited to bring their passion for lifting up forgotten and neglected voices to life in audio.”
To learn more about the moves ARRAY has been making, including a much-needed database to diversify Hollywood’s talent pool, visit their website here.