BIO: ML Dumars received her BA in Humanities from Tulane University in 2019. Using words and images, she conveys the simplicity and joy one finds in a story. She resides in Shreveport, LA, where she spins tales of fiction and helps others tell their stories. Her motto is "Live with Passion". ARTIST STATEMENT: Writing is an act of rendering deep observations. I recreate minute details of simple life and the complex characters who live them. My works expose the possibilities of relationships influenced by stereotypes, spiritual beliefs, sexual orientation, and ethnic bias. The characters are challenged and transformed by extraordinary events in ordinary settings. Many of my short stories draw from small town experiences in rural black communities. These characters reflect real and imagined reactions to conflicts in everyday life. Through exploration of life in small black towns and villages, my works form a backdrop for vivid personalities to thrive. The Art of Photography opens the mind's eye to see the impermanence of a moment in time. The concept of a stare is diffused and the observer can evaluate the scene as it pertains to one's own life. RESUME: ML Dumars presented a solo exhibition based on her latest sci-fi novel, A Different Way of Being, in Spring 2024. She was the Critics Choice Award winner for Literary Art in Critical Mass 11 in 2023. She had a collaborative exhibit featuring four of her poems at Southern University Museum of Art- Shreveport since February 2023 to 2024. Her second book, Tumbleweed: A book of Poems was published in 2022. As a 2022 NEA grant recipient, she presented her short docufilm, Tell Your Story: Natchez, La, documenting citizens of rural Louisiana telling their own stories of life in Natchez, Louisiana. She has published multiple essays and short stories in Handbasket Zine. She published her debut novel, Any Given Tuesday, in 2020. Her short story, “Growing Up Country”, was published in the international Short Edition Digital Story Lab database in 2018. She wrote multiple Short Stories and Poems that were published in Fleur de Lit Literary Magazine 2017-2018. She wrote several pieces for Performance and Storytelling at the Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) Black Box Theatre in 2016 & 2017. She presented "Freedom Walk", a spoken word performance at SRAC in 2016. She presented “Cultivating Knowledge”, a spoken word performance at SRAC in 2015. She was a monthly column writer for SB Magazine in 2014-2016. Her short story “What If?” was published in Up All Night anthology in 2005.