Haruka Aoki
Haruka Aoki is a Japanese American poet-illustrator who lived as a paint mixer on the Iberian coast about three hundred years ago. Their past and current selves have reunited in Lisbon, Portugal, where Haruka is based. Haruka loves to create soft, hope-centered ecosystems with illustration and writing, making marks with collage, paints of all kinds, paper scraps, pixels, or a mix and match of such delights. Through their art, they try to grow and provide a warm, accessible space for collective hope and healing. Their paintings and narrative comics have found homes in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and on the cover of The New Yorker. Haruka is excited to bring their characters and stories into the world of children's picture books.
Haruka is the recipient of the Fine Arts Work Center Scholars Award and the SCBWI BIPOC Scholarship, and their artwork has been recognized by American Illustration, Society of News Design, Tapirulan, among others. They enjoy being in conversation with the spirit and art of many inspiring artists, including Beverly Glenn Copeland, Jean-Michel Folon, Marc Chagall, Marsha P. Johnson, Q Hayashida, and Tomi Ungerer. Haruka loves long lunches with friends, fruit pies, and chatting with snails. They often feel deeply grateful to be an earthling.
