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