The Audacious Art of Nikkolas Smith: The Superpower of Artivism and Change

Send us Fan MailI wanted to interview Nikkolas Smith because his art is like a lightning bolt. How does a Black man from Texas, educated at the famous HBCU Hampton University land in California to work as an Imagineer for Disney  for 11 years make a portrait of George Floyd that crosses the continent and unites the world in grieving and raising our voices for justice?  His story is stunning. His new book “The Artivist” asks us, Do you believe Art has the power to heal?I couldn’t get enough of his take on:Can all of us..and I mean all of us be an Artivist?How do we start supporting Artivism in our kids and Artist in our community?My fav quotes from him that made my face hurt from smiling so hard:“Whatever you are making or doing  Sprinkle a little activism on it. You just gotta do it!""That thing you wish you could fix in the world, the broken bone… connect yourself to that. Make some art about it. Simple as that.”He is a Concept Artist, Author and Activist….but more than that I see him challenging injustice and indifference by refusing to accept the violence of racism and police brutality quietly. His art is a blow horn, it wakes us up to beauty and our human loss. His portraits  helped us to grieve the loss of life collectively…and see the humanity that requires us to make change, His portraits create a Bridge for people..from the headlines they read in the news, to the  humanity that connects us.. This was put on full display when my home state of Minnesota was reeling after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The portrait made connections between people across communities, our country and around the world to link arms together for George. People mourned together and held up that portrait to demand justice.  When I look for people activating justice and instigating joy…he is doing it!He is also the illustrator of #1 NYT Bestseller The 1619 Project: Born on the Water written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist  Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, I Am Ruby Bridges written by Activist Ruby Bridges,Black Panther Wakanda Forever: The Courage To Dream, written by NYT Bestseller author Frederick Joseph andThat Flag written by Tameka Fryer Brown. This is a growing podcast, will you take 30 seconds and help us?Yes! I will sign up to get the newest episode delivered by owl to my inbox!Heck yeah! I will leave a review because I know how much it helpRaising my hand to get Diana's writing on  substackFollow Diana on Social Media @dianaoestreich    Yes, I want free tools from The Waging Peace Project! Buy our book Waging Peace, One Soldier’s Story of Putting Love First  to support Veterans, peacemaking and stories that are changing the world.Find our Merch here, and Wear Your Peace.Bring a Waging Peace Keynote or Workshop to your school, organization, or faith community.