Georgia State adds India.Arie and Dianne Ashford as first female Artists-in-Residence

When you add a Grammy award winner and a super producer to the mix, you know you have a recipe for success.

The first female artists-in-residence are getting ready to join Georgia State’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII); India.Arie and Dianne Ashford. The two entertainment business titans are going to bring their experience and industry knowledge to students. Arie and Ashford will me mentoring students and giving them firsthand knowledge starting this summer through the following academic year.

India.Arie has been in the industry for more than two decades and has a successful career to match. Not only did her debut album “Acoustic Soul” go double platinum, but she’s a 23-time Grammy nominee and a four-time Grammy award winner. Arie also has some roots in Georgia; Arie spent some time living in Atlanta during middle school and high school and even enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Ashford has been making her mark in the entertainment industry for the past 15 years with her work as a film and television producer. Her movie credits include “Creed” with Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone, as well as “Ride Along” with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube.

For Arie, joining Georgia State feels like a full circle moment. “I wanted to attend Georgia State, so to be able to work in a mentorship capacity with students, to me, feels like I’m just making my way back to where I wanted to be,” Arie said. “And for the last several years it’s been one of my prayers and wishes to work at the college level, in academia, in some way. I just didn’t know how it would come to fruition.”

Ashford also has ties to Atlanta, as she was introduced to the film industry by some friends who were actually making a movie in Atlanta. That introduction had such an impact on her that she left her career in computer information systems and moved to Atlanta in 2001. “I’m on-the-job trained,” Ashford said. “I didn’t get a film degree, so everything I’ve learned has been from hands-on experience. At the end of the day, a producer is the ultimate project manager, and the job is to make sure you come in under budget and on schedule. I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with students at Georgia State.”