Nikkolas Smith facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nikkolas Smith
Smith at the 2023 Texas Book Festival
Born	1985 (age 39–40) United States
Education	Master's of Architecture
Alma mater	Hampton University
Occupation	Artist, illustrator, activist
Movement	Protest art
Children	1

Nikkolas Smith is an American artist, illustrator, and activist. He creates art that often shows the stories of African Americans and highlights important ideas about social fairness. His digital paintings are very popular online. They have even been shown in famous places like Times Square and in big newspapers like The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Early Life and Learning

Nikkolas Smith grew up in Spring, Texas. He was the youngest of six children. He went to Hampton University in Virginia. There, he earned a special degree in architecture, which is about designing buildings. While at college, he drew political cartoons for the school's newspaper. After finishing his studies, Smith moved to Los Angeles. He worked as a Disney Imagineer until 2019. Disney Imagineers are people who design and build the rides and attractions at Disney theme parks.

Art and Activism

Nikkolas Smith calls himself an "artivist." This means he combines his art with activism, which is about working for social change. Smith creates his artwork digitally on his iPad using programs like Photoshop. His art styles can range from bright pop art to softer, more dreamlike impressionist styles. He gets ideas from artists like Nina Simone and Norman Rockwell.

Sunday Sketches and Books

Smith started his "Sunday Sketch" series in 2013. He shares new sketches every week on his Twitter and Instagram pages. Some of these popular sketches were later put together into a book.

Smith also writes and illustrates children's picture books. He drew the pictures for the book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water (2021). This book was inspired by Nikole Hannah-Jones's The 1619 Project, which explores the history of slavery in the United States. The magazine Fast Company said that Smith's drawings used African symbols and different colors. They also noted how his careful facial expressions showed the human side of enslaved people. Born on the Water became a number one best-seller on The New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Picture Books. It was also on Time for Kids' list of Best Children's and YA books in 2021.

Art for Athletes

Smith's paintings from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil became very popular online. A publishing company, Skyhorse Publishing, offered him a book deal. This led to his 2016 book called The Golden Girls of Rio. This book was nominated for a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children in 2017.

Art for Social Justice

Smith often creates art about important people and events related to civil and political rights. He also draws athletes and famous cultural figures. He started using his art for activism after the killing of Trayvon Martin. In July 2013, his drawing of Martin Luther King Jr. wearing a hoodie became very popular online.

The Black Lives Matter movement asked Smith to paint George Floyd in 2020. This finished painting was shown as a main piece on billboards in Times Square. It was also displayed at the Beverly Center shopping mall in Los Angeles. Smith has also painted portraits of other important figures like Tamir Rice, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castile, Bree Newsome, and Lupita Nyong'o. In 2020, many artists, including Smith, created popular social media art related to Black Lives Matter.

Honoring Chadwick Boseman

After actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in August 2020, Smith created a large digital painting. The painting was called King Chad. It showed Boseman, who played T'Challah in the movie Black Panther, giving the "Wakanda Forever" salute. He was saluting a child wearing a Black Panther mask. This painting was shown for a while at Downtown Disney in California. Smith later gave his King Chad painting to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. It is now on permanent display there.

Other Notable Works

Smith has also created posters for movies such as Dear White People, If Beale Street Could Talk, Southside with You, and Black Panther. In 2019, Art Basel asked Smith to design the logo for their "what Matters" campaign. Many famous people have shared Smith's artwork on social media. These include Michelle Obama, Rihanna, Nipsey Hussle, and Janet Jackson. His digital painting of Atatiana Jefferson was even shown on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2021, Smith created a piece called "First Practicing Vegan" for PETA. It showed Cory Booker and other well-known vegans. The artwork was a new version of Rockwell's famous painting, Freedom from Want. This poster was displayed at various bus stops in New Jersey during the 2021 holiday season.

Personal Life

Nikkolas Smith is married to a documentary filmmaker. They have one son together.