MJ Peters, talented event coordinator, producer, singer, and actress, shares her passion for Omaha and its’ vibrant arts community. Her latest project, the Omaha Creative Directory, helps her showcase local talent and bring the community together in a shared, online space.

MJ Peters on the Omaha Fashion Week Red Carpet during the February 2020 season. Photo by Morgan Jade Photography.

How did you become the creative you are today?

I was always writing songs, singing outside on the swing, constantly just making music. I played piano at a young age and I always loved it but I never showed anyone. I remember there was one time I sang in front of my mom and my grandma and I hated the way I sounded, so I just never did it again.

When I was 14, I was modeling and acting. That’s when I found production to be my passion. I wanted to learn to make projects my own so that I could play the roles that I wanted to play, so I got into production assisting. I lived in LA for three years after high school and took acting classes. I was a Personal Assistant to an actress and learned a lot about the business.

I worked on this song when I was in LA in 2016. I went to this singer-songwriter meetup and there was a producer that was looking for a singer for the song that she wrote. We were able to collaborate, make it in my singing range, re-work the chorus, and I knew I wanted to do a music video for it. I didn’t show anyone the song. It was on Spotify, but I didn’t feel confident enough to share and be like, "This is me." Flash forward to December 2019, I finally shot the music video for it and it felt so good. It’s my favorite thing that I’ve ever done. I feel like it was such a representation of me as an artist. I was able to direct, produce, and choreograph; I finally had the creative say rather than making someone’s vision come to life, which I’ve been doing my whole career. It was cool to see that all come together and very inspiring, but it took me a while to build those connections, find those resources, to be able to make my art.

I worked at a movie in Oklahoma. I was there for three months and was a Production Supervisor on that project. That was the first production I’ve been a part of in that role. People were coming to me with questions. More than just assisting, I had a leadership role in the production office. I had to learn a lot really fast. I feel like it brought me confidence and power. I didn’t even know that I could jump into that sort of role until I was literally in it.

After that movie, I was kind of stuck. I was a Server and I just wanted to be on set, that was my focus. So, I started sending my resume around to the production companies that I knew in town. What was funny was I only knew of two. I didn’t know how else to jump into the industry so I took meetings and one of them offered me a job position. They wanted me to be the In-House Producer. They were partnered with an ad agency and I was the crossover position. I learned a lot about advertising, marketing, and now I feel like I can bring that into my work going forward.

When I started doing modeling, that led to acting, and that led to production, but acting has always stayed with me. Another career goal of mine is to produce projects that I’m in and I did that this year. I did a short film that was in Omaha Film Festival called One Punch with Edison Creative, and I am also the female lead. That’s what I love to do because, as an actress, when I had no creative say it drove me crazy. I was so curious to learn more and be a part of the whole process. Now, I get to show all sides of me in one project, which is fulfilling, rewarding, and encouraging for my personal art.

How did those experiences help you in the long run?

It was really important for me to see other people do it and be able to assist them in their vision for a while. That was crucial for me to learn and gather information and see how it’s all put together. The actress that I was an assistant for in LA was an Executive Producer on the short film that she did and said it was one of her favorite projects because she was able to fully express her vision of the character. Seeing it was a huge help for me to visualize, “Okay this can actually be my life. Someone is doing this, making money off of it, supporting her family. This is something that is an actual job.” It made it real rather than a dream in my head. I think assisting people made it a reality for me in the long run.

What is the Omaha Creative Directory?

When I was working on that movie in Oklahoma, they had a directory that was easy to use. It made me think that it would be great to have that sort of resource here in Omaha, something that included all the different types of mediums of art and events. I thought about it then, but when I started event coordinating this year, I found it difficult to find creatives to bring on to these events. I think there’s a lot of people who have talent and don’t have a way to showcase it outside of their social media bubble. I want to create a database that goes outside of that bubble.

My partner is Emily Smith. Emily works at the ad agency that I was working at and built their site and it was gorgeous. Teaming up with her was important because I wanted the site itself to be creative, aesthetically pleasing, and organized. We want to make sure that this is a tool and resource that people want to use and feel comfortable using outside of social media because we’re so comfortable with those platforms. I started talking to her about this idea and now, we’re both on this path and we’re really passionate about the outreach that we can provide to the community.

What can people expect to see with this directory?

They can see a new resource to browse and search for specific, specialty artists. It’s going to showcase the variety of talent in the region. We are called Omaha Creative Directory, but we are inviting people outside of Omaha, including Lincoln and Council Bluffs to join. It is definitely a way to connect everyone. What I wanted to create was a way to browse all the different services that are offered here.

Once we launch, we will be listing local businesses with click-through links where you can shop. I think that is another part of our site, making it accessible to people who may not be able to make the drive to get down to events when people are showing. All of the clothes that I buy are second hand. Now that I started to do it and I see how easy it can be, one thing led to another and everything is local. Shop places like Roland Fitz, Lion’s Mane Vintage, Spearmint Vintage, Peaches Vintage Co., and now there’s WannaBee’s Vintage in Blackstone. It’s already curated for you and you don’t have to go through all the things you don’t want to look at. So, we’re trying to make it easier to shop second hand.

Once the directory is up and running, how can creatives get involved?

Once we’re live, directly on the site there’s an application. We have an application and a yearly fee to be listed to act as a filtration system in itself. We want to make sure that we're including active artists in the community who are ready to push their careers to the next level, promote themselves, and invest in that opportunity to be a part of the collective and advertise as an entire community on this database. The turnaround is a week and then we’ll get you on the site.

There are other plans that include advertising packages. It’s so hard to market your work and sell yourself. It’s something that I’ve struggled with personally as an artist. We’re putting the Omaha Creative Directory name on your image, so this ad is for both of us, and then we push it and have the link lead back to the directory. We’re featuring select people who are down to put that little bit of extra money into it, but in the long run we’re promoting everyone.

How can people who may not be creative support?

Visiting the page. Once we are launched, a huge thing for us to prove our value and worth is by sharing our impressions with creatives. We want to be able to show that there’s a large number of eyes going to the site so that we can prove the value of paying the yearly fee. It’s very interactive, very visual, colorful, and organized. We want to make it user-friendly and fun to use.

How did you find your confidence and discover your art?

Asking questions, whether it’s on their opinion of your art or, “How did you do it? What are you doing? What are you working on?” The more we can work together, the more opportunity there is to come together, collaborate, and make things. The team that I worked with on my music video are all local creatives that I’ve met along the way in this past year. Making connections is the biggest thing.

How would you encourage people to collaborate?

Once we launch Omaha Creative Directory, they can come onto the site. I think another great way that it’s a resource is the potential for collaboration opportunities. So, if you see an artist on there and you’re like, "Wow, I love what they do. Either I want to work with them or I want to be doing what they're doing," you have the opportunity to reach out. Ultimately, for me, it’s been talking to people.

When I started talking with Roland [Massow] about his goals with his business, [Roland Fitz], I was super excited for the opportunity to be able to reach out to artists in the community. I wasn’t one to go to events alone because it’s so intimidating, especially if you don’t know anyone there. Starting to be the one to plan the events was a great way to jump in and get to know people. I felt out of the bubble up until that point. I wanted to immerse myself and be able to provide a service that I knew how to do as a coordinator. Being able to showcase and discover the talent in Omaha is another way for me to do it and it’s a lot more personal because we’re working on a common goal project. Entertainment is local but you just have to know where to look. That’s why I think it’s important. People are bored and they have no reason to be.

Now, whenever I go to an event I always see people I know. These people have become my friends and it’s really fun to spend that time with them. You just got to find a space that you feel safe in that you can start from, talk to other people there and see what they’re going to, follow them on Instagram, and see what they share. It’s a way to jump into the community.

What if you don’t know what your strong suit is in the creative realm but want to start getting involved?

You do know. I feel like everyone has a calling inside and it’s just finding that or listening to it. What I’m learning is that your personal power can develop from that voice. You can find your community or the passion you want to pursue, but it’s all about listening to that passion and asking questions about how you can use that passion.

MJ Peters in her music video Disconnected. — MJ Peters in her music video *Disconnected*.

What are you passionate about?

Inspiring others to create. I think it’s so important to do projects that are fulfilling. We need it in our lives. The community hasn’t necessarily supported the opportunity for us to be able to do that full-time, so we all have these hustles, these day jobs, where we have to make our money so that we can pursue our art on the side. The idea for me was to find a way to make money off of our art so that we can do it all the time because this is what speaks to our soul. It’s more fulfilling.

What is your mission in life? What is your dream? What are these goals that everyone has? They’re so afraid to make the jump but if there’s the opportunity in front of them they’re more willing to pursue it. I also want those opportunities as an artist. It would be cool to be invited to perform at a show where I know people will listen to me for the first time and be able to relate, love it, and follow me so that I can continue to grow. It’s getting these designers, models, dancers, musicians, all different types of people at these events, to grow. It’s putting these opportunities in front of them and that is what I’m super passionate about. It just makes the world better.

You speak highly of the Omaha creative community. What are some of the best aspects of it?

I think the support system is built into the Omaha creative scene. People are so ready to see and hear new art. There are lots of gallery openings that invite artists of all disciplines. I’m seeing more and more events that are calling for artists. There’s that support system right there. We’re looking for you and we want to invite you into the conversation.

Do you think that there are any areas in the creative community that need improvement?

I think exposure and promoting yourself. That was a huge motivator for me to make Omaha Creative Directory. You’re not alone. We’re in this to promote you because we know how hard it is.

A lot of artist's work is very independent and that can be very isolating in itself. It’s like, "I’m making this. I’m putting my heart into this piece and also trying to promote myself to sell it." It can be soul-sucking because you have to have belief in yourself that you are worthy and there is that value. I think as an artist, I'm still finding my confidence in my work. As I’m going through this journey, I also want to help other people find that.

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