Akiyah Johnson, known as AJLatri, is a painter based in Philadelphia whose work explores Black identity, representation, and expression through movement, gesture, and emotion. A graduate of the University of the Arts (2019) with a BFA in Fine Art, she utilizes a diverse range of mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, ink, scratchboard, digital media, and bookbinding. Her practice serves as a means of evaluating both the self and others, capturing presence, resilience, and introspection through expressive mark-making.

Akiyah has interned with the Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA) and has exhibited in numerous shows, including AND I’M BLACK, Student Self-Portrait Exhibition at Gallery One in the Kimmel Center, and A Day in the Life of an Artist of Color at St. Mary’s Church in Hamilton Village at Penn. Her current body of work continues to explore the language of the body, conveying themes of self-awareness, confidence, play, and release through form and movement.