Micah Johnson. Micah is a self-taught figurative artist who uses strong gestural lines combined with loose brush
strokes to create dramatic portraits primarily featuring African-American children. These
subjects, which are often inspired by his young nephews, began appearing in Micah’s work ever
since he overheard his 4-year old nephew ask, “can astronauts be black?”.
After seeing the overwhelming response to his paintings, Micah realized he needed to expand
this message to reach a broader demographic and he created an animated character named
Aku. What sets Aku apart is his freedom and confidence, his openness to people of all kinds of people and, his desire to help.
