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PICTURE BOOKS
Smith, Nikkolas

The Artivist

40 pp. | Penguin/Kokila | September, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780593619650 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780593619667 $10.99
(3) K-3 Smith's testimony of his artivism journey illuminates the heart of an artistic Black boy desperate to make the world a better place. The text reflects on the concept of "artivism" and what it can achieve, as well as the character traits required to be an artivist. The artivist is many things, readers learn — an ally in the fight against injustice, a memory keeper, visionary, and more. With their studied rawness and striking visual metaphors, Smith's painterly digital illustrations are concept art-esque, and depict the boy ten toes down — wielding his paintbrush to peacefully protest gun violence, environmental degradation, housing inequality, and other societal transgressions. An image showing a mural, painted by the boy, becoming a viral sensation highlights the tectonic, auxiliary role of social media in contemporary resistance art movements.
Reviewer: Summer Edward

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