Amira Mustapha: Renaissance Woman

Amira Mustapha 

(Photo Credit: Michael Martinez) 

By Ja-el-Lucina Dozier 

When searching for your artistic voice, studying the work of other artists can inspire, new ideas and broaden your perspective. Amira Mustapha, a Ghanaian-American, Bronx-based artist, producer, writer, Founder, and Executive Director of Art Defined Productions, Inc., is a renaissance woman whose magic seems to be everywhere, producing art across multiple genres and supporting her community. Ms. Mustapha was gracious enough to sit down with the Meridian to chat about her artistic journey and give aspiring entrepreneurs some insights on starting their journies.  

Can you tell us a bit about your origin story as an artist? 

I’ve always been interested in the arts whether it was writing, singing, acting, all those things. But growing up, as a first-generation student, I was told, “That’s not something you do. You go to school to become a doctor, a nurse, something more solid.” But then I started taking theatre classes here and fell in love with it. Realizing that this was something you could do for a living and make money from it was something I didn’t know was possible before college. 

Did you get both your BA & MA from Lehman?  

Yes! The Bachelor is in Theatre with a minor in Psychology. And when I first graduated from undergrad, I said I’d never go back to school. But then my boss Henry Ovalles (Associate Director of Lehman Stages) mentioned a new one-year Master’s program in Organizational Leadership. Having that as a Master’s gives me the tools to step back, look at things objectively, make revisions, and strengthen my company. To this day, I still go back to those notes, especially when I’m feeling stuck.  

You’re also the Director of Production Services at Lehman Stages. What are some of the other things you’ve been known to do?  

So backstage, I do lighting design, stage management, and tech for live shows. I’ve also recently acted in a play that I wrote for the Framing the Female Gaze exhibition at the Lehman Art Gallery. My play, Adulting, was based on when my father passed. It was kind of therapeutic because it was a way to deconstruct the world around me and put those thoughts out there so that they wouldn’t overwhelm me. And then we did the web series #30theseries. I wrote that with my best friend Cristy Reynoso and it was a lot of learning. It was crazy but it was fun. 

Because you had to wear a ton of hats for the web series?  

Yes! We were producing, writing, directing, doing our camera work, lighting, postproduction, and promotion.  It was hard, but it was a great experience. That’s what I love about art. 

How long had you been working on the concept before you were able to finally get into shooting the principal photography?  

Even before we got into the arts, me and Cristy were always able to write ourselves as characters in a story. In 2019, we decided to produce a story based on ghetto adulting. Shooting started in Spring 2022. And we were done in three months. 

Poetic Affair	

      (Photo Credits: Gabriela Garcia)		

#30sTheSeries 

(Photo Credit: Richard Acevedo, Jr) 

Circling back to your non-profit company, Art Defined Productions, Inc., what was your inspiration for founding your organization?  

I needed it to exist. When I was a student here, we had so many ideas and dreams. But then we graduate, and it’s so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of New York. I saw a lot of people start to slowly move away from the arts. And I was like, “No! We went to school for this!” So I started Art Defined as a way to bring people together. Not just friends of mine but also people who were like us, who needed support and a space to continue dreaming.  

You founded Art Defined in 2010. What was it like getting started; finding founding members, trying to get funding, and getting it registered as a non-profit?  

It was difficult and it took some time. I wanted to have everything set before I did my first show. Starting, I did a lot of research on books that gave me step-by-step guidelines on the company paperwork. And I wanted to figure it out myself so that I wouldn’t have to worry about being taken advantage of by an umbrella company. Umbrella companies usually take ten percent of everything a startup earns. After we got our incorporated status, we did our first Poetic Affair as an open mic showcase and fundraiser for the 501c3 application. Once we got our non-profit status in 2013, that made us eligible to get grants. But the paperwork is a lot simpler now than it was back then when you had to mail in hard copies to Albany.  

How has Art Defined evolved from the first production to now?  

Art Defined needed to pause in 2015 so that I could figure out its direction. Then when I graduated from the master's program three years later, I revived the company, gave it a new life, and strengthened its conviction. Then when the pandemic happened, we were able to have access to a lot more people, foundations, and opportunities virtually. Even though it’s based in the Bronx, the goal is for it to grow and go into other underserved communities around the world. And I was able to start that over the pandemic. Because we did our workshops online, we were getting people from the UK, Africa, Australia, etc. And many of the people who connected with us over the shutdown still come to our workshops now. It’s a space for artists to grow, have community, thrive, and make connections.  

How do you choose your team?  

It varies from year to year. When it began, I did a lot of the work on my own. But I’m surrounded by creatives at Lehman, and I would go to specific people for specific things based on the project. I would go to people and ask them, “How can we bring your dream to life.?” Then I started partnering with other organizations to get interns. Now I find that I’ve been doing a lot more networking through the events that I host. 

How do you start to look for grants? Were you doing that before your 501c3 status?  

A friend suggested that I apply for a grant through The Bronx Council of the Arts. They aim to support organizations in the Bronx. But I didn’t start to get huge grants until the pandemic actually, like the Rockefeller Fund.  

Tell us a bit more about the programming over at Art Defined and how that’s evolved through the years.  

The base has always been literary and performing arts. Even though performing arts was my first love, the writing workshops were always a part of the plan. Writing feeds that creative side of me more than just journaling. So in the beginning was Poetic Affair, our most consistent program. Next, we did a few plays. Then our writing workshops started in 2018 at the library. When we moved online, we expanded to poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting. Last year, we got our DOE (Department of Education) license so that we could work on school programming to encourage the younger students. 

What has been the most challenging thing about the Poetic Affair productions?  

Consistency. We started once a year. Then it became quarterly. Now it’s monthly.   

So what’s next?  

Sustainability through fundraising! I need Art Defined to outlive me. Poetic Affair is our poetry night that happens every third Wednesday of the month.  Except this month it will be on May 22nd. And we have our workshops every Sunday from 2 pm - 4 pm. We promote everything on our Instagram. www.instagram.com/artdefinedinc/  

Poetic Affair features a versatile casting process. In addition to spoken word, featured artists can also sing, dance, perform magic, etc. Visit their website for more information about upcoming events. https://www.artdefined.org 

Follow Amira Mustapha: 

https://www.instagram.com/aquarianmuse19/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amira-mustapha 

https://amiramustapha1.wixsite.com/my-site 

Checkout Amira’s Web Series:  

https://www.youtube.com/@30stheseries 

Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Short Plays on Trayvon Race and Privilege

By Jael Lucina Dozier

The Network for Stage & Screen Artists presents Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Short Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege. Written by Dominique Morisseau, A. Rey Pamatmat, Winter Miller, and Dan O'Brien, with music by Quetzal Flores, Mona Mansour, Tala Manassah, and Marcus Gardley. 

The Facing Our Truth series seeks to provoke thought, spark conversations, and challenge preconceived notions about race and privilege. Each play within the collection presents a unique perspective on the aftermath of Trayvon Martin's tragic death. Colored, The Ballad of George Zimmerman and No More Monsters Here explores the broader implications of racial profiling and systemic racism. Night Vision, Some Other Kid, and Dressing encourages audiences to confront uncomfortable truths and discuss the persistent racial disparities and injustices that plague society.

This Spring, The Network for Stage & Screen Artists is bringing a new cast and twist! They will return to the Studio Theatre for a second presentation of Facing Our Truth on Wednesday, April 10th at 7 pm and Thursday, April 11th at 3:30 pm. Directed by Ja-el-Lucina Dozier, this presentation will feature performances by Ashley Brown, Anik Banerji, Christian Toro, David Guallpa, Elise Pinnock-Toliver, Gwendelyn Acosta, Ijeoma Umelo, Janet Norquist-Gonzalez, Kadiatou Diallo, Kaitlyn Igartua, Leosha Bristow, Macarthur Varga, Meika Johnson, Mell Peña, Samuel Boucher, Serg Lockhart, TJ Barber and Jae Dozier. This production is supported by the Office of Campus Life at Lehman College and Lehman Stages.

In her search to find content that would resonate with the members of Stage & Screen, Ms. Dozier (President and Artistic Director) stumbled upon Facing Our Truth: Ten-Minute Short Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege. She learned that in 2013, The New Black Fest, an NYC-based organization dedicated to uplifting diverse voices in entertainment, commissioned seven highly accomplished playwrights to write six ten-minute plays inspired by the nationwide protests caused by the outrageous George Zimmerman acquittal. In this spirit of protest, Facing Our Truth was born. The messages held within this collection were nuanced, heartfelt, funny, gut-wrenching, and timeless.  After two rounds of auditions and one year of planning, The Network for Stage & Screen Artists finally realized their dream. In the Studio Theatre, they performed to a sold-out audience on Friday, December 1st, 2023. 

(12/01/23, The Green Room, Lehman College)

The Network for Stage & Screen Artists is a haven for creatives, artists, and storytellers. They welcome actors, directors, singers, writers, musicians, animators, dancers, videographers, poets, graphic designers, and all other artists who enjoy amplifying their work in the spirit of collaboration. The community is committed to creating various production opportunities for the members to build their network, maximize their visual storytelling skills, and gain valuable hands-on experience. If you are interested in film, theatre, music, television, photography, etc, then Stage & Screen is the perfect place! You can find them online at instagram.com/stagexscreenartists or contact them directly at stagexscreenartists@gmail.com.

“Just from reading the title, I thought I had an idea of what to expect. But these six plays, specifically, have such a unique take...and if you’re not paying attention, you don’t realize that such heavy topics are being handled in such an innovative and creative way. (For instance) with Colored and No More Monsters Here, it’s so crazy to think that racism can be handled in such a playful way. But that’s what makes these short plays so different. They’re telling stories about social issues in a way that’s not so in your face.” - Samuel Boucher

“I was shocked at how much my character, Greatest Grand, reminded me of some of my own family members that I grew up with. It’s been fun to infuse my own magic into my character and find ways to make her pop. For me, No More Monsters Here is very significant in its own way of addressing issues that we see every day and that we hear about very often.” - Meika Johnson 

“I kind of relate to the Trayvon Martin character in The Ballad of George Zimmerman because I remember how people got upset when Zimmerman was acquitted. When that happened, my mom looked at me and said, ‘That could’ve been you.’ It could’ve been any of us. And these plays give me some ideas for future films that I want to work on.” - Elias Williams