dr. candi dugas

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Profile Campaigns

filmmaker, writer, advocate, creative program developer focusing on matters of faith, freedom & justice

I don’t like limitations or labels. In fact, growing up, I remember my father trying to get me to eliminate the word “can’t” from my vocabulary. He wasn’t successful at that time. I insisted that I couldn’t do any and every thing. He insisted that I could. Today I remember his words and that word is not a part of my vocabulary. So, I don’t like limitations or labels for myself or anyone else, anywhere else in the world. These restrictions translate into oppression and injustice for me, from which we need to be liberated. My art, my writing helps us be and become free. I am particularly drawn to alternative approaches to recognizable topics that can make meaningful differences in the lives of audiences and readers through interesting characters and a well-told story. If my work were a song, it would be like a familiar tune of which we don’t hear the intricacies until we have on earbuds, creating a whole new appreciation for the richness it contributes to our lives. Perhaps this metaphor is possible because of the critical role music plays in my work. Art has the power to change the world with its beauty and its substance. So, I infuse my art with as much contemplative content as possible, so that the work interacts with a person long after she sees/reads it. I realize that the alternatives I offer can be difficult for people to grasp, but immediate radical change is not what I seek. Instead, like my good friend advises, “Our goal is to change the conversation. When we do that, the people will live into the change – whatever that turns out to be for them.” My audiences and readers tell me that my passionate yet relaxed approach draws them to explore these difficult topics with me. Then the interweaving of characters and storylines compels them to stay with the adventure. They seem to trust me, even when they disagree with me – such a tremendous gift. Along with creating good art, my business background compels me to research its marketability and best ways to present it. To make the greatest impact in our community and world, it has to be commercially and aesthetically viable. Not only does this approach expand my audience, it allows my work to contribute tangibly to our economy. My greatest artistic dream is to be compared to amazing writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Lorraine Hansberry, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Pearl Cleage. Their words have helped define me inside. Coco Chanel, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Katherine Hepburn model for me a different way of being a woman. Wilma Rudolph reminds me of Daddy’s advice, that I have no physical limitations that cannot be overcome. As I expand my art into filmmaking, I draw on Spike Lee, Theodore Witcher, and Ava DuVernay for inspirational energy. Their work influences my passion for authentic independent filmmaking, my love of dialogue with a proper blend of Standard English and contemporary slang, and a desire to capture intangibly beautiful images on film, respectively. Overall I aspire for my work and my life to merit a place among my ancestors, especially those who made my freedom possible – whether or not I ever become famous. My concern is that I live fully into what’s before me which was made possible only by all that which and those who came before me. Harriet Tubman insists on perseverance, “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.” The dogs and the torches and the shouting tend to take different forms today, but the necessity of resolute persistence continues, just to get a taste of freedom. With my art I keep going so others can also keep going, no matter what may be chasing us, because freedom is just on the other side of the border – no limits and no labels.

About Me

1 Campaign From the launch to the finish line, these were the campaigns you ran to make something happen for your entrepreneurial, cause-related, or creative passions.
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