Shabazz Larkin is a Nashville-based artist, writer, and creative director whose work moves between painting, murals, sculpture, literature and public art. His practice centers on telling cultural stories—honoring the past, reflecting the present, and creating images that feel rooted in community and lived experience.

Shabazz is on a mission to bring the stories of the culture into the public square, harnessing the energy of the South and transforming it into monuments of pride, memory, and belonging.

In addition to studio paintings and portraits, Larkin creates sculptures and monuments that engage directly with history and place. His approach to public art begins with listening—studying the stories, values, and identities of a community before shaping a work that reflects collective pride rather than personal expression.

Across mediums, his work asks a simple question: how can art help us see ourselves, our history, and each other more clearly?

In 2017, Shabazz moved his family to Nashville, Tennessee, where he began collecting and sharing the stories of everyday people and their encounters with God, transforming those accounts into street art across the city. At the same time, in his studio practice, he creates portraits of Black figures rendered in stark black or deep red tones—an intentional challenge to the Eurocentric standards that have long defined beauty in Western art.

Lately, Shabazz and his two sons have turned their attention to building Larkin Art & Company, an art gallery and product design studio creating children's books, family games, and self-care tools that help bridge the mindfulness gap for a broader spectrum of people.

Curriculum Vitae

 

Selected Exhibitions, Installations & Residencies

2025 — Julia Martin Gallery, Nashville, TN
This Is What It Is Right Now

2025 — Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN
Fabric of America

2025 — Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
To Gather: Together

2025 — Rockwall Gallery, Nashville, TN
Bloomville

2025 — The Forge Gallery, Nashville, TN
Demons & Flowers (Solo Exhibition)

2025 — Banker’s Alley Hotel, Nashville, TN
Selected Works

2024 — Soho House, Nashville, TN
Porsche Food Festival

2024 — Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
This Place Between Us

2024 — Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN
Vessels (Group Exhibition)

2024 — Wonderful People Farm, Nashville, TN
Bronze Sculpture Installation

2024 — Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN
Monuments & Myths

2024 — The Forge (STATE Residency), Nashville, TN
Artist Residency

2022 — 1010 Church Street, Nashville, TN
Music City Pillars
– Monument honoring the Fisk Jubilee Singers
– Monument honoring Little Richard

2021 — NKA Gallery, Nashville, TN
Rest in Peace While You Are Alive

2021 — The Amazon Spheres, Seattle, WA
Artist-in-Residence

2020 — Scalehouse Gallery, Bend, OR
Fragile Black Man

2019 — Sony DMPC, Los Angeles, CA
Storyteller’s Creative Installation

2018 — Vanguard Art Show, Nashville, TN
God Speaks Project

 

Selected Books, Publications & Film

2023 — Museum of Presence
Community-based newspaper and podcast

2022 — The Oracle: A Series of Notes from God (Illustrated Book)

2021 — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
50th Anniversary Illustrated Re-edition

2019 — The Thing About Bees: A Love Letter to My Sons (Children’s Book)

2016 — My Brother’s Keeper
Film for The Obama Foundation

2015 — Push: A Film About Motherhood
Launched on International Women’s Day

2014 — A Moose Boosh: A Few Choice Words About Food (Children’s Book)

2013 — Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table (Children’s Book)

 

Commercial Creative Experience

Head of Content / Creative / Production
True Voice App (Quantsy & Associates), 2020–2025

Creative Director, 2013–Present
Client list: Sony, EyeBuyDirect, Matter Unlimited, World Vision, Merck for Mothers, Google, YouTube, Lonely Leap, The White House, My Brother’s Keeper, Ford Motor Company, DeLeón, Sean Combs, Bad Boy, Revolt TV, Cîroc, Nokia

Confidant Agency, Nashville, TN, 2018–2020

Matter Unlimited, Creative Director, 2016

Blue Flame, Executive Creative Director, 2015

J. Walter Thompson, New York, Sr. Art Director / ACD, 2010–2013

Creature Seattle, Seattle, Art Director, 2008–2010

Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Art Director, 2008

Mother London, London, UK, Creative Intern, 2007

CRT/Tanaka, Richmond, Designer & Video Editor, 2004–2006

Clients serviced through the agencies above:
Nike, Macy’s, Smirnoff, Nuun, Bayer, Pepsi, Diageo, Pacifico, Seattle’s Best Coffee, Bing, Microsoft, Hotmail, Heineken, UK Anti-Drug Commission, Rolex, Bill Gates

 

 

Awards

2018 — Cannes Lion, Health
Reverse, Merck for Mothers

2017 — Clio Award, Health
Push: A Film About Mothers, Merck for Mothers

2017 — Cannes Lion, Bronze, Health
Push: A Film About Mothers, Merck for Mothers

2017 — Cannes Lion, Bronze, Health
Push: A Film About Mothers, Merck for Mothers

2016 — Salisbury Sonya Sadler Award
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

2015 — Sustainable Literature Award
Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

2011 — World’s Funniest Commercials, Gold
Sierra Mist: Liquid Sunshine

2010 — One Show Pencil, Silver, Package Design
Nuun: Rebrand