Founder of the Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis, Deborah Asante has been performing as an actress and storyteller for more than 20 years. She has been recognized by the Arts Council of Indianapolis as a Creative Renewal Arts Fellow and has won the Aesop Cup for Tall Tales and the National Association of Black Storytellers’ Zora Neale Hurston Award. Through the Asante Art Institute, she hopes to inspire children to embrace their cultural heritage, appreciate literature, and to tell their own stories to the world. Ms. Asante plays the Mysterious Stranger in 12 Stars Media’s narrative feature film “Dirty Laundry” (2024).