His Portrait Of Mlk In A Hoodie Went Viral. Now He Shares A Message In His Downtown Disney Art

There’s a hidden doorway successful Downtown Disney. Only this 1 isn’t meant to beryllium walked through.

Flanking a shape adjacent nan monorail station, you’ll find a glistening achromatic tower, nan activity of creator and activistic Nikkolas Smith, who has adopted nan word “artivist.” At first glance, nan building — 1 of Downtown Disney’s astir striking useful — appears to beryllium a motion to Disneyland’s Midcentury art, for its curved lines and space-age optimism wouldn’t beryllium retired of spot successful Tomorrowland.

That’s there, says Smith, but location are besides a number of much subtle inspirations.

The building is simply a motion to 5 Black architects, trailblazers whose creations sometimes went unnoticed aliases overlooked. And that’s why astatine nan guidelines of nan building is simply a looping opening meant to signify a half-open doorway.

Downtown Disney’s Legacy Tower touches connected nan styles of different Black architects arsenic it rises into nan sky.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Smith shares a distressing anecdote. “They had to study really to publication drawings upside down, because they weren’t allowed to beryllium adjacent to nan achromatic clients,” Smith says, adding they besides had to strengthen unequal pay. “So I was incorporating things for illustration nan half doorway to symbolize their struggle.”

Officially designated arsenic nan Legacy Tower, Smith himself fixates connected that connection — “legacy.” The term, he says, represents a thematic changeless crossed his work. A regular collaborator connected a number of Walt Disney Co. projects and a erstwhile designer pinch Walt Disney Imagineering, nan section of nan institution focused connected taxable parkland experiences, Smith is thing of a connector. His canvas art, afloat of fast-moving brushwood work, is often rooted successful nan past while urgently seeking to tie links to nan present.

Artist Nikkolas Smith went viral for his image of Martin Luther King Jr. successful a hoodie, a tribute to slain teen Trayvon Martin.

(Nikkolas Smith)

His 2025 children’s book, “The History of We,” tells nan communicative of really humanity tin trace its roots to Africa. And 1 of his best-known pieces is of Martin Luther King Jr. successful a hoodie, meant to evoke nan image of Trayvon Martin, nan slain 17-year-old whose decease inspired a societal justness movement. The activity went viral successful 2013 while Smith was still moving for Imagineering. It altered his profession trajectory.

“It was like, ‘I cannot conscionable make creation astir churros and rides correct now,’” Smith says. “There’s a clip for that, and there’s besides a clip to talk astir this.” He references his portraits related to nan killings of Black men, galore astatine nan hands of constabulary officers, specified arsenic Philando Castile and Michael Brown.

“At nan extremity of nan day, Disney understood that,” Smith adds. “They understood that I needed to make creation that was highly important astatine nan moment, astir justness aliases nan deficiency of justice.”

Smith near Disney successful 2019 aft 11 years but has maintained a adjacent narration pinch nan company, truthful overmuch truthful that Imagineering called upon Smith to creation nan tower, which opened successful 2023.

Artist Nikkolas Smith, left, chats pinch guests Ricky Yost and Martina Yost of Aubrey, Texas, who recognized Smith from a caller Disney cruise excursion.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

As nan Legacy Tower spirals toward nan sky, its patterns and and lattice activity motion to nan likes of James H. Garrott, Robert A. Kennard, Roy A. Sealey, Ralph A. Vaughn and Paul Revere Williams. All were progressive successful Los Angeles — Williams, for instance, was a pivotal designer connected nan LAX Theme Building — and Smith interlaces ornamental flourishes successful varying styles that twist astir 1 different to activity up nan Legacy Tower’s pointed spheres.

The doorway of nan Legacy Tower symbolizes perseverance, Smith says. “They made it through, contempt each of nan obstacles they had to spell through.”

Smith had studied nan architects while a student astatine Hampton University, and has documented connected his Instagram their various stylings, which scope from restrained to whimsical to ornate. A conception referencing Vaughn is modern minimalism, whereas an area dedicated to Sealey is afloat of jagged, pointed linework. All of it is held together via a coiling creation that feels afloat of movement.

The patterns of nan Legacy Tower are nods to nan likes of James H. Garrott, Robert A. Kennard, Roy A. Sealey, Ralph A. Vaughn and Paul Revere Williams.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

“How tin I show humanity’s interconnected future? That’s nan idea,” Smith says. “There’s this African taxable of Sankofa. If we look toward our future, we person to look astatine nan past and worth and admit nan past. I thought it would beryllium awesome if I could really commemorate immoderate Black designers and architects arsenic nan instauration and backstory of nan tower. And I was besides reasoning astir these breezeway artifact patterns that you spot successful Leimert Park.”

And yet it besides feels for illustration thing that belongs successful nan park. Smith says he looked astatine immoderate Tomorrowland designs.

“A Midcentury Modern vibe was Walt,” Smith says, referring to parkland patriarch Walt Disney. “That was Walt’s thing. It each connects. I emotion that group tin hopefully now link some things. You tin link Tomorrowland and Walt pinch Paul Revere Williams.”

It’s intelligibly Smith’s favourite creation of his for Disney, though it’s not nan only abstraction astatine nan edifice that features his artistry. During his decade-plus pinch Imagineering he regularly worked connected teams that focused connected projects astatine Disney California Adventure, which this twelvemonth is celebrating its 25th anniversary. He was heavy involved, he says, successful nan improvement of Avengers Campus, contributed to a mini promenade shape successful Pixar Pier and helped envision nan destruction of Guardians of nan Galaxy — Mission: Breakout!, which transformed nan erstwhile Tower of Terror into a sci-fi structure.

Nikkolas Smith says elements of Downtown Disney’s Legacy Tower symbolize perseverance.

(Gary Coronado / For The Times)

Smith looks backmost fondly astatine his years astatine Imagineering, specifically calling retired his clip connected nan Guardians project. The erstwhile edifice is now afloat of glistening bronze pipes, a retro futurist look that erstwhile Imagineer Joe Rohde, who led nan design, has said takes influence from nan high-tech artistic of designer Renzo Piano, who worked connected France’s Pompidou Centre.

“How overmuch tin we adhd to it? How overmuch tin we get distant pinch gluing onto this thing?” Smith says of nan Guardians facade. “What is nan correct magnitude of ‘Guardians of nan Galaxy,’ without being excessively much? Without scaring group connected nan freeway?”

Today, Smith continues to attraction connected societal justness work, and has besides collaborated pinch filmmaker Ryan Coogler, specified arsenic completing concept designs for his Oscar-nominated movie “Sinners.” Smith’s 2023 children’s book “The Artivist” documents nan value of creating creation that’s successful speech pinch nan world, believing it’s not only a root for acquisition but for empathy. Smith’s play paintings speak retired often against nan current administration, and Smith has been peculiarly vocal connected nan ICE raids.

A action from “The Artivist,” an illustrated book from Nikkolas Smith.

(Nikkolas Smith)

“Some group opportunity that each creation is activism, but I consciousness that immoderate of nan champion creation that is created is creation that has a message,” Smith says. “And hopefully that connection has to do pinch nan humanity of each people, and for me, I for illustration to attraction connected marginalized communities, and really we tin worth nan humanity of everybody. That’s why I make image books astir nan origins of humanity and nan origins of this country.”

The Leimert Park resident says his woman and young boy regularly sojourn nan Disneyland Resort. And erstwhile he does, Smith says, he ever takes a infinitesimal to extremity by nan Pixar Pier shape that he contributed to, which is often utilized for characteristic meet and greets.

“They were squad projects, and I do spell up to them pinch truthful overmuch pride,” he says. “I spell up to nan Pixar Pier promenade stage, and I conscionable spell up to it and touch it. ... The beautiful point astir Disney is these creations are usually astir for a lifetime.”

It turns retired you tin return nan creator retired of Disney, but you can’t afloat return nan Disney retired of nan artist.