We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Za’niya Mims. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Za’Niya below.

Alright, Za’Niya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was seven when my mom first asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I didn’t look up when I answered—I already knew there was a “right” answer, the best answer.

“I want to be a doctor. They make a lot of money, right?”

From that moment on, I worked tirelessly toward an Ivy League future—straight A’s, after-school programs, building connections that would one day matter. I was on track, determined.

Then, sophomore year of high school, right before the 2022 pandemic, I found myself in Driver’s Ed, watching the infamous “Don’t Drink and Drive” videos. This version however, was particularly graphic, and that was the moment I realized—I was queasy. Very queasy. It was undeniable.

There would be no med school for me.

But I wasn’t upset. By then, art had quietly become my escape. While chasing a future as a neurosurgeon, I had been drawing my whole life, sketching in the margins of notebooks, letting creativity be my refuge.

So as I sat on my bed, quarantining through the pandemic, I started dreaming—not of scalpels and surgeries, but of a life surrounded by art, artists, and creativity. YouTube became my window into the world of art business, and with every video, a new dream took shape.

By junior year, I was researching art schools, stalking their websites since campus visits were impossible. In just a year, my entire life plan had flipped upside down.

But I wasn’t afraid.

For the first time, I felt like I was finally stepping into a world that made sense—a world I could shape on my own terms. And I’ve been working toward that ever since.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Za’Niya Mims, a black lesbian artist, storyteller, and creative entrepreneur studying Animation and Creative Entrepreneurship at MICA. As someone who has moved often and navigated complex family dynamics, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for storytelling—both as a way to understand the world and as a means of personal escape. My work is heavily influenced by my love of horror, gore, and the raw, often unsettling beauty found in the darkest corners of human experience.

Art has always been my constant, even when my path seemed destined for something else. I once worked toward a future in medicine, chasing what felt like the “right” choice. But in the midst of change, I found my true passion—creating worlds, evoking emotion, and connecting with people through visual storytelling. My goal is to build immersive narratives that challenge perspectives, embrace the uncomfortable, and resonate with those who, like me, are still carving out their own space in the world.

Through my work, I explore themes of identity, resilience, and transformation. I’m inspired by the complexities of human emotion, the interplay of logic and feeling, and the power of unconventional beauty. As I continue my journey, I aim to not only create art that captivates but also to build a future where I can uplift and collaborate with other artists in meaningful ways.

I believe that art should provoke, heal, and linger in the mind long after it’s seen, art has that power!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In today’s world, there’s a heavy emphasis on labeling things as good or bad, and an immense pressure to always be at our best. I don’t think society actively tries to cause harm, but I do think we need a shift in mindset—toward a more net-zero way of thinking. Supporting artists, creatives, and the ecosystem around them shouldn’t be about striving for moral superiority; it should be about giving what we can simply because we can.

The real question is: how do we make supporting one another as natural as breathing? Society is comfortable claiming to contribute more than it takes, but many overlook the people and support systems that make their success possible. A thriving creative ecosystem requires intentional effort—shopping locally, being mindful of where and how we spend our money, amplifying artists online, and holding those around us accountable.

Artists bet their lives on their work, and supporting them can take many forms. It’s not about being “good” or “bad”, “better” or “worse”, it’s about doing what you can, when you can. And sometimes, that’s enough to support artists and your whole community.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Things don’t have to be just one thing or another—people, ideas, and concepts are allowed to grow, shrink, and even contradict themselves. Letting go of the need for mutual exclusivity was one of the hardest lessons I had to unlearn. For a long time, I had a very black-and-white way of thinking, and it deeply hindered my growth as both an artist and a person.

I struggled to take criticism constructively, and problem-solving felt impossible. If something didn’t work the first time, I assumed it never would. “If I can’t do this, then I can’t do this.” That phrase became a never-ending cycle that paralyzed me. I lost so much time believing that I couldn’t be both good at art and in need of improvement at the same time.

This mindset hit hard after a year of art school—I felt stagnant, uninspired. I convinced myself that the things I loved, the strange, gore-filled, magical princess narratives I wanted to explore, couldn’t also serve as valuable practice. Because if I liked them, they couldn’t possibly be cool or worthwhile.

But I eventually unlearned that. I realized that concepts, like people, are stronger when they have depth, layers, contradictions. Things can be and not be, and then be again—it’s the natural cycle of creativity, of growth. Learning to embrace that has changed everything.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mstar.draws
• Facebook: @mstar.draws
• Other: Website under construction but keep in the loop through Instagram!