Meet Fatimah Abdullah | Head of Studio at BWA

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fatimah Abdullah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fatimah, how do you think about risk?
I love taking risks. For me, it’s all about exposing the possibilities. Stepping into the unknown has led to as many successes as failures. I’ve been lucky to be a part of small, mighty teams, and taking risks was a matter of survival. We were responsible for prying the door open for growth, leading to innovation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Early on, I took the advice of one of my incredible college professors, Dr. Tonya Edwards, and did anything I could to stay connected to creative fields, learn the lingo, and pay rent. I got my start volunteering for arts organizations between jobs. I’ve worked in restaurants, been a file clerk, a manager at Kroger, and balanced those jobs with production gigs.

Eventually, I served as the first – and only – Black President of ASIFA-South in its 30-year history. It was a crash course in public speaking, event planning, fundraising, and international communications. It was also a gateway to partnering with organizations I admired.

Fast forward to today, I have nearly two decades of production experience in the advertising and entertainment industry, with top awards for linear and immersive content.

Before joining BWA Studios, I led creative production as a Series Producer with 9 Story Media on “Dee and Friends in Oz” (Netflix, 2024). As Executive Producer at Primal Screen, I headed all commercial projects and developed the studio’s first original series, “Jelly, Ben and Pogo” (PBS Kids, 2021). As an EP at an immersive content studio, I built unprecedented visualization pipelines for the International Hotel Group, and delivered a global CG/VR production effort for Delta Air Lines, bringing global sales content under one unified content program.

I’m incredibly proud to have been a part of these talented teams and helped to push our work forward into unknown territory. Still, there’s work to be done. In many of my experiences, I have been the only Black woman – or person – in high-stakes conversations. I’ve seen the toll and experienced the burn that production lifestyles have on minorities in our industry.

Now, as the Head of Studio at BWA (standing for Black Women Animate), I’m with a team of incredibly diverse creatives and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities ahead of us. We have a unified vision of opening greater pathways in the industry for Black Women, women of color, and nonbinary people of color and shifting the model for how we do it. We are in the pilot phase of our Equity Excelerator, a multi-pronged program designed to activate resources needed to truly thrive in a studio environment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It probably starts outdoors, even though I’m admittedly not outdoorsy. There’s a beautiful path at Mason Mill Park that my partner and I regularly take our kids (8 yrs, 2 yrs). Every season has beautiful light in the mornings. It’s a nice, low-traffic, no-impact walk good for conversations. For lunch, we’re going to Desta Ethiopian Kitchen or a spot on Buford Highway – La Mei Zei, Surina, or Kang Nam. End the day with a movie at the Plaza Theater, or a visit to Videodrome if we’re feeling fancy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh no! Do I have to choose one? I have a lot of love and respect for arts-based community organizations in Atlanta. ASIFA-South, Atlanta Film Society, Dashboard Co-op, The Creatives Project, and the GGDA, among others. Being an integrated part of these organizations catapulted my experience early in my journey. Each has allowed me to take up space and lead. And I’m only one of millions they have inspired and moved forward. So, shoutout to the collective of inspired and driven leaders of arts orgs who have helped shape the creative culture.

Website: bwastudios.com

Instagram: bwastudios_

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahabdullah/

Image Credits
Daniel G Morris Chrysander Mandragora BWA Studios