Today we’d like to introduce you to Beautifully Ethnic and BE Artform Productions.
In 2016 Ana Thompson and Toni Houston came together to discuss the happenings in the world and knew we had to be a part of the change. We dreamed of educating, inspiring, and igniting a positive chain reaction that would encourage unity, respect, and understanding among the people with a goal to re-educate the masses about the importance of listening to, understanding and communicating with one another in a healthy way. It wasn’t until 2019 that our dreams were materialize when we joined forces with Maritza Thompson, Ebony Smith, and Camille Smith to throw our first free community event, an open mic night in downtown Long Beach. Our first event provided a safe space for everyone to express themselves and connect with others from their community.
From there it was history, Beautifully Ethnic and B.E. Artform Productions was born. Beautifully Ethnic, our Non-Profit, grew to have four more events ranging from panel discussions to putting on a play for the community. When Covid 19 hit, we turned our sights onto the production side of things, we started a podcast titled “Conversation with the Sisters of B.E., where we discuss many topics such as spirituality, the environment, and much more, available on various podcast platforms. Soon after, we received the opportunity to work on a cooking show called “Hood & Healthy” with head Plant Based Chef Temu Asyr Bey over the summer. Currently, we are developing educational, empowering, and thought-provoking film content dedicated to the black and brown community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth is not a part of the process. The struggles bring character and give us more opportunity to develop quick problem-solving skills. There are times when things don’t go as planned, for example one of our venues were canceled hours before an event was to take place, but we quickly started brainstorming and found another location. Any time we run into an issue, we go into action and are good at improvising our way out of sticky situations. They say two heads are better than one, imagine what you can do with five. Most importantly, God is always looking out and providing us with what we need.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are a collective of writers, cinematographers, choreographers, and photographers, anything and everything arts-related. Each of us came from backgrounds where things that we may have needed weren’t always provided to us, which molded us to be resourceful. We are most proud of releasing our fears and insecurities and sharing our creative spiritual gifts with the world. We don’t do our work for recognition or fame, but more so to be of service to create harmony and balance in our communities.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Keep it going. No matter what, DO NOT STOP!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/be.artform/?hl=en
Image Credits
Ana Thompson Gabriella Dee Maritza Thompson
