An Important Note from the Author:

I made a choice about love (and by extension, all of my relationships…personal and professional)…and it can be summed up in the following quote by Sonically Bittersweet:

“Do you love me like a lion loves a gazelle…or like a lion loves a ?”

 

A Short Visual Adaptation

Maeva in 3rd Grade

One of them is not like the other…Cat’s Cradle, anyone?

Maeva’s curiosity and love for words inspired her to begin writing poetry at a very young age. Coupled with her love for mathematics, her love for reading and writing turned into a love for riddles and logic puzzles…and her poetry became much more playful.

(Fun Fact: Maeva actually went to a State competition for Math 24 and was the only 3rd grader representing her school while her teammates were all in 4th grade. 🤗)

         

Due to Maeva’s mother being in the military, she lived a nomadic lifestyle and spent a chunk of her childhood in Belgium (grades 5-8).

Fun Fact: Since Maeva’s mother was stationed on an international military base and not an American military base, Maeva had the opportunity to form friendships with people from many different cultural backgrounds as various countries also had military personnel stationed on this base. However, her family didn’t live on the base; they lived in a nearby town called Jurbise.

Fun Fact: Maeva’s father sent her an Algebra 1 book when she was in 5th grade and she taught herself multiple Algebra 1 concepts in her spare time; this resulted in her testing higher in math in 6th grade and allowed her to skip math levels.

 Her love of traveling and exploring other cultures would shape her perspective and journey in life. It cultivated her love of foreign languages, trying new foods and watching films.

Throughout high school and college, Maeva performed Spoken Word Poetry and participated in shows and slam competitions in various states.

 

After alot of hard work, Maeva graduated Summa Cum Laude from the UCLA College Honors Program with a BA in Anthropology. Interestingly enough, her dream school in high school was Florida State University because they had an underwater archaeology program and Maeva has been obsessed with the ocean for as long as she could remember. Due to being in a serious romantic relationship at the time, she didn’t apply to FSU and instead applied to the University of South Carolina to be closer to her partner, who had moved to South Carolina after graduating the year prior. Unfortunately, they broke up before her freshman year of college began…but don’t worry, he didn’t attend USC so she didn’t run the risk of bumping into him. 🙂

(Fun Fact: Maeva actually graduated early from UCLA. She transferred from the University of South Carolina, where she was in the Capstone Scholars Program because she got rejected from their Honors College. Little did she know, that rejection set her up for something better that was waiting for her. Not only is transferring from an out-of-state University to UCLA a rarity within itself, but transferring from a University to another University usually adds a year or more to a student’s education; however, Maeva sent many emails, had multiple meetings, filled out ALOT of paperwork and took summer courses to make graduating early a possibility!)

(Not-So-Fun Fact: UCLA had less than 3% Black/African American undergrads when she attended…and many of them were athletes, who were kept separate from the general student body. She made it a point to congratulate every Black student she came across…and this was before Issa Rae’s famous 2017 quote at the Emmys. 🫶🏾 According to the most recent published data, UCLA is currently up to 5%.)

She worked for UCLA for six years.

     

While working for UCLA, Maeva created a Scholars Program and was the Program Director for five years.

She also founded a creative arts program called The Lyric Lounge and was the Program Director for two years.

(And yes, the math IS mathing because there was an overlapping year where she ran both programs.)

  

As a certified Power Yoga instructor, Maeva taught in yoga studios and inner city high schools.

Not only does Maeva enjoy using her mind to create and give back to the community, she also loves nature, hiking and being active outdoors!

 

In 2015, she conquered the tallest mountain in the [Continental] US in one day! 16hrs and 47 minutes roundtrip!

She also participated in the partial excavation of Mayan ruins in Belize in 2010.

 (Again, one of them is not like the other!)

Although she doesn’t consider herself a runner, she’s completed the Color Run twice and ran the 2013 LA Marathon (5hrs and 30 minz).

When not in front of the camera, Maeva enjoys working in other areas of filmmaking.

 

She’s crewed for indie music videos, short films and photoshoots. She’s done casting, sound, set design, G&E, art direction and 2nd AD.

As an artist whose artistry flows in and out of various forms, Maeva’s creative practice has heavily influenced her leadership style and approach to entrepreneurship.

Some of Maeva’s favorite moments from her professional life thus far
(in no particular order):

• Graduating with a 3.951 from the UCLA College Honors Program (Just FYI: I got an A- and it was counted as a 3.8 or something. My A+’s didn’t offset it either because they were worth 4.0 like regular A’s…which didn’t make sense…but whatever.)

• The day Maeva discovered the following quote: “No Black woman writer in this culture can write ‘too much’. Indeed, no woman writer can write ‘too much’ … No woman has ever written enough.” – bell hooks – Remembered Rapture: The Writer At Work, 1999

• Having students and faculty specifically request her to substitute at their school (Ms. A. says “Good Morning!”)

• Creating and directing two high school programs while working for UCLA

• Sharing in her students’ joy of being accepted into their dream schools (including Ivy leagues) …especially when she wrote them a recommendation!

• Founding her [artist-owned] businesses

• Completing the exhibition theme for her mixed media artwork

• Booking her first national commercial and her first co-star on a TV show

• The look on a fourth grader’s face as he realizes that he’s great at a math game and accesses a new part of himself. (He was initially very shy due to having low reading skills but this opened him up and he began to blossom.)

• Earning her 200hr Power Yoga certification

• Having a student eagerly introduce her to his parents at his high school graduation…and for him to tell them what she meant to him. (She didn’t know that he was actually paying attention during the after-school program.)

• Feeling the spark when she resonated with a recent Call-To-Action within the film industry

• The subtle satisfaction anytime artwork is completed

“Compassion and Empathy allow us to think of new ways for freedom to exist…only then are we allowed to have a conversation worth having.”

– Maeva Asare

Maeva’s Four Loves

Her dog, Shadow

 

 

Her Romantic Life Partner / Soulmate 

 

Creating Art

She has a socially engaged art practice as she knows that artists are an essential element in solving the puzzles that unlock the potential of our society. Her work is rooted in poetry, philosophy and mathematics and is influenced by Dadaism, Street Art and Surrealism.

She launched [PartOne] of an interactive virtual art installation with the goal of making art collecting more fun and accessible to the public; she is working on [PartTwo] of the installation.

You can also subscribe to her recently created YouTube channel that hosts the digital work she’s creating for a different installation. She composes the music, creates the visuals, writes the poetry, etc: Visuals and Sounds  

Her artist name is Maeva (My-EEE-vuh) and she wrote the following note about the reason she chose to use her name in this form:

“I stand in solidarity with those who have ethnically-rich names and/or unique names. We are the ones who improve the dexterity of the tongues of the people we meet. As our physical ability to create new and different sounds improve, so do our ears to hear and receive new communications so honestly… you’re welcome. 😘” 

Also, one of her collections is pictured below:

AND

  

FOOD!

 

A Few Words From Maeva:

Thank you for visiting my world on the interwebs.

Remember that the pendulum forever swings and we all take turns in the darkness and the light; in those moments of darkness, try to turn your face towards the light. It may not seem like it is there but it is…you just gotta find it…and remember that there are times when your own bioluminescence lights the way. Seek and you shall find because what you seek is also seeking you.

“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly…” – Langston Hughes

Om Shanti Ase’….Be Blessed