NITASHIA JOHNSON

non-profit founder

photographer

filmmaker

graphic designer

youth mentor

Hello, my name is Nitashia Johnson. I am a Nigerian-American, multimedia artist and educator from Dallas, Texas who truly has a passion for creating. I attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts from 2004-2008 and went on to become an alum of Texas Woman’s University in 2012 and the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Life was very hard for me growing up with no parents and living in poverty, but the goodness of others helped me to thrive. I use my photography and design skills to make a difference in the world. My projects include: The Self Publication, a photographic book series created to dismantle the stereotypes aligned with the Black community; The Beauty of South Dallas, which is a project that captures the rapid change of a historical neighborhood due to socioeconomic shifts, creating a document of South Dallas for future residents, visionaries, and developers; and The Smart Project, a creative after-school program structured for teens and aspiring mentors living in North Texas.

My photographic work has recently been featured in The Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, and The New York Times. In 2019, I became one of the first women selected for the Sony Alpha Female Creator-in-Residence program. My work has been exhibited in the Somerset House in England as well as out of state locations such as California and New York. I believe that my role as an artist is to share and tell stories, to capture and create moments that will stand the test of time. Art, design, and video gives me the power to help others express who they are. These creative areas also help me express myself as well. In fact, my creative practice is simply a self-portrait in which I have the opportunity to experiment with and change every day.