Article by Jay Michaels

PinkArtsPeace Productions (or PAPPI) is a lively, multi-media production company providing a growing platform for new artists to showcase their work to the world. And that’s not just prose. Thanks to its founder, Sunflower Duran, who has gathered a team from all over the world, each presentation has the possibility of going worldwide.

“To help new Artists live their dreams of creating, promoting and exhibiting their Art to the world, we provide an all-inclusive platform with access to the resources they need to be seen but most importantly just to come out of their shell and be Artists,” says Duran, a Latina producer/director/actress who demanded we capitalize the words Art and Artists in this article.

While she can break into a sales pitch without a blink, one can tell that Sunflower cares about her fellow Artists … deeply. “I love working with new writers, cinematographers, directors and actors.  I was born a protagonist and my purpose in life is to help others become the protagonist of their creative life.” Duran speaks in sales pitch and love letter simultaneously.

How do you choose projects? What are your criteria?

If it speaks to my heart, it’s getting produced. God always puts in my path what is next for PAPPI.  I have also had to decline projects which didn’t resonate with my soul. It was not easy as I want to help artists achieve their dreams but not everyone’s dream is aligned with your own. 

How is it to be a leader in the Arts right now? What obstacles do you find being a woman? What obstacles do you find being Latina?  

There are no obstacles only challenges! Where there is a will there is a way. As a Latino woman [sic] Artist, it is my responsibility to give a voice to the voiceless. It is my responsibility to create work that is meaningful and has sustenance. It is my responsibility to use my intellect as the power in my work and not just my body.  Although my body is too an instrument but not just to be objectified. It is my responsibility to set an example for others to know their worth lies inside their hearts and not just in their outward appearance. 

Sunflower Duran and PinkArtsPeace Productions are planning to be one of the first shows to open this fall … in reality. She has begun rehearsals (on zoom currently) and even began selling tickets. She has one of the larger indie theatre spaces in NYC (The Cullum Theatre of the American Theatre of Actors) for a revival of John Patrick Shanley’s The Women of Manhattan,which embodies her mission as it tells the story of a group career women – inside and out.

When I asked what she would do if we are still in lockdown in the fall, she – without taking a breath – said “we WILL open. When? Doesn’t matter. But we WILL open.”

This Sunflower always aims toward the sky.