Meet Amma Fordjour of Satomaa in Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amma Fordjour.

Amma, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am a 22-year-old visual artist, graphic artist, and musician originally from Litchfield Park, Arizona. Being first generation with parents that are from Ghana I often felt like it was hard to communicate with them what was going on with my at school so I turned to the arts. I began playing the saxophone in 6th grade and from there I taught myself piano and drums as well. I started drawing in 7th grade and over time I became familiar with other mediums such as acrylic paint, sharpie, watercolors, and mixed media. I began selling commissioned art at age 12 to kids at school and their parents and by age 15 I was selling art monthly at this art and music type festival held in downtown Phoenix, called First Friday. I sold art and had multiple shows all throughout high school.

At age 17, I moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Redlands, California to attend the University of Redlands where I graduated at 21 with a BS in Chemistry and BA in Biology. While in college, I would balance out a tough work load, working as a resident assistant, and creating commissioned art for clients (anywhere from visual art to graphic art for album covers to motion graphics that would be used for music promotion purposes). After graduation, I decided to finally follow my curiosity so instead of going to pharmacy school like originally planned, I moved to LA with a dream. In one night, I sold most of my artwork created in 2013-2018 via Twitter and made $1500 which paid for my move, furniture, and a few other essentials. With no degree in design or art, I knew it would be hard to find my place in LA. I started off working at Saddle Ranch in West Hollywood, working 50 hours a week while doing commissioned art for people and building my artistic/creative portfolio. After 3 months, I got hired to be a production assistant for a post production company in Burbank. Through them, I was able to learn more about the art of production and the many jobs that are available. While working as a production assistant, I began to explore other avenues such as background work in movies or music videos, being featured in digital media projects such as Snapchat and ATTN, teaching myself Adobe programs, and learning more about music production. In March, a coworker that is a fan of my art asked me to be a panelist at a Netflix sponsored event for women that work in production. At the panel, I talked about my artistry and my art journey at such a young age. The panel was held at a well-known production company in Hollywood called Buddha Jones. After speaking at the panel, one of the owners of the building offered me an internship to work in their motion graphics and design department. In May, I was hired full time as a Junior Designer so I am currently working at becoming professionally proficient in Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D in hopes to one day be a Creative Director.

Currently, I am working full time as a Junior Designer, while commissioning art for companies and individuals on the side, and teaching myself the guitar. My friends and I recently started a band / music group so we are currently working on producing our own songs and recording in the next few weeks. I am also working with a family member on a project, discussing future plans to go to Ghana and start a small non-profit program that will encourage children in neighboring villages to learn how to play instruments and give them art lessons. This will be a one week camp in Accra in the winter of 2020.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, this journey has not been relatively smooth. One of my biggest struggles was getting my parents to understand my artistic vision and make them comfortable with the idea that I can make money creating art and designs. Our culture is huge on education so when they heard I did not want to go with the medical route they were very disappointed for a while. Another struggle for me was being so young when I first moved to Los Angeles. I was only 21 (I’m 22 now so that’s not too far off, but still) and very naive to the dangers of LA. A lot of “producers”, “agents”, etc. will do anything to scam a young person with a dream so I almost got caught up in that a few times. Living in LA is tough because of how expensive everything here. So, I’d say another struggle I had was figuring out how I was going to have side hustles that would help pay my bills because having just one job wasn’t going to be enough. For the first time since I’ve moved here things are actually really smooth now and all the anxiety that came from financial burdens are gone so I can finally start exploring and financing my dreams the way I originally planned.

Satomaa – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
I am a freelance visual and graphic artist and a full time designer. I have sold art to people on every continent besides Australia (my goal is to change that by the end of 2019 though). My art had been featured on BuzzFeed, Snapchat, in a gallery, and in multiple shows. I take a lot of pride in my art because when I first began drawing I was in a dark place as a child and drawing was the only thing that distracted me enough to not think about my bad feelings. It feels really good to see where it has taken me after 10 years and how far I have taken it. Like I always say, it’s just the beginning.

My proudest moment: When I was 19-years-old I went abroad to Ghana for 4 months or a study abroad program. Although I was there to study chemistry and biology, I became friends with a man named Billa who founded and built a school in his front yard and house for the children nearby that could not afford to go to school. I was so impressed by his work that I decided to get involved. From there, I created a GoFundMe and sold art to my Instagram and Twitter followers, telling them that if they donated a certain amount then in exchange I would mail them a small art piece. I was so proud because I made it onto the radio in Accra and Phoenix, discussing the work I was doing and ways people could donate. Before leaving to go back to America, I took the cash out of the GoFundMe account and presented it to Billa. We cried together. (My documentary series, Gone to Ghana, was filmed in 2016 and is available on YouTube under Amma Fordjour. More episodes will be filmed in 2020).

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I will know I am successful when I am able to take care of my family financially, support their dreams, my friends dreams, and be a change agent all over the world. My dream is to become so uniquely creative that when someone thinks of a service they want done they will know only I can fulfill that particular service. I am passionate about seeing change, especially in the youth so when I get to a point where I am able to start my own organization that focuses on art and music, I would love that. A lot of children of color and children in third world countries need to know that they, too, can create a life for themselves by working on what they are passionate about and making a career of it. I will know I am successful when I see my name attached to schools, music and art buildings, and science labs in Ghana. Success to me is constantly working hard, loving what I do, and showing people exactly how powerful they are and can be.

Contact Info:

• Email: ammafordjour@gmail.com
• Instagram: @Ammazing_ 
• Twitter: @Ammazing_

Image Credit:
Afari La-Anyane, Nick Lumarque

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