We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dakota Jane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dakota , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think that success is a frame of mind. Anyone can be successful and anyone can be a failure. The perception we have of ourselves, our lives, friends/ families, rules us; although it should be the other way around, we’ve gone into a society that views success as Instagram likes and viral videos. I believe success is doing what I am passionate about. Success takes takes determination, discipline, true belief in self and the universe and desire.

Dakota , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Dakota Jane and I am a director. From 2017- early 2020 I was focused on creating a modeling career for myself, until I realized so many photographers lacked genuine unique ideas. When Covid hit and we had to stay home and really sit with ourselves all I could do was come up with concepts that would require serious budgets, but still concepts that I wasn’t seeing often. As dangerous as it sounds- I chose the height of the pandemic to book a studio, models, stylist, and a photographer and made my vision come to life. I never released any of my work on my own Instagram because I never felt I had to “show off” or promote what I do, if people pay attention then they’ll understand. While doing creative direction, I began coming up with storylines to better map out my ideas and with writing stories, came scripts and suddenly I had 10 short scripts written down and ready to go; I’ve loved movies since I was a kid so this wasn’t too off beat for me. Creative directing for photo shoots was my intro to the film world and directing my own short films is where I see myself now. I am a true Virgo rising so they’re taking longer than expected to debut but they are most definitely in the works.
Now, for the fun stuff. The brand I belong to is called Lost In the Art. We are a collective of BIPOC women from Jersey City, who focus on cultivating community gatherings, events and pop ups for local New Jersey creatives. My position is creative director, talent seeker and host. It’s been only a year now officially that we have become a business and through many ups and downs and financial challenges we continue to put on for our people and our state, no matter what. I believe that something that sets myself and my collective apart from everyone else is that we are truly inclusive and for lack of better words, amazing vibes and energies. As women, our primary focus is safety and genuine respect because there are so many places you can go to have a good time, but to feel secure while enjoying life is its own entity.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think my character is what helped me build my reputation. No one is a saint, but it costs nothing to be a good human. I believe the people I meet and the relationships I create and maintain speak for themselves amongst my collaborators and peers.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey is driven by me. The goals I set for myself never stop and that’s because I cannot stay stagnant. I feel there is always more to do, more to see and more to give. People inspire me, and in return I aim to inspire the people.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Dakota.Jane @lostintheartcollective

Image Credits
Jas @jvsx___ Julian Mena @julian_anem