Dr. NICOLE JOHNSON
Creating immersive worlds about grief, healing, memory, justice, and the possibilities that emerge when we transform what has hurt us.
MY STORY
My creative universe is built with vibrant characters and transformative narratives that bridge historical wisdom with future possibilities. Across my work, I am particularly interested in the inner lives of children navigating grief, loss, and change — and in creating stories that give young people and adults space to experience difficult emotions without rushing them toward resolution.
Through animation, music, written works, and visual art, I craft worlds where healing and justice intertwine, exploring how creativity, family, memory, nature, and community can help us live alongside what has changed. I am interested in healing not as a linear journey, but as an ongoing practice of making meaning, finding connection, and rediscovering joy.
My immersive, healing experiences are designed to awaken empathy, inspire agency, and reimagine just futures — transforming personal and collective pain into beauty, joy, and connection while creating space for children and adults alike to feel seen in the complexity of their experiences.
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ANIMATION
My animation work embodies the belief that stories can inspire hope and foster sustainability in our collective journey toward transformation. I aim to translate the narratives from my literature into the animated realm, focusing on world-building through 2D animation. As an animation producer and creator, I've collaborated with talented storyboard artists, animators, illustrators, designers, and musicians to produce music videos and short films. My ultimate vision is to create feature-length animated films led by historically marginalized voices, capturing American joy, challenges, and triumphs through the lens of the global majority. I aspire for these animated stories to enlighten and empower those impacted by systemic oppression.
ORIGINAL WORLDS
A selection of illustrated worlds created and produced by Dr. Nicole Johnson, exploring childhood, history, identity, healing, and social change.
Melvin is a 10-year-old artist whose world changes after a powerful storm disrupts her sense of safety and her relationship with the ocean. Through creativity, family, mindfulness, and nature, her story explores what it means for children to navigate change and healing.
Follow Lotte Williams as a mysterious book pulls her into a world shaped by history, justice advocates, and the people whose courage continues to illuminate the present.
BOOKS
Tales of a Time Traveling Playmaker" follows the journey of Melvin Jones, a young Black woman grappling with profound loss and the discovery of her extraordinary abilities. As she navigates the heartache of losing her family and mentors in her late 20s, Melvin, a researcher and philosopher based in Jupiter, Florida, begins to uncover her powers of time travel and playmaking.
Supported by her loyal best friend, Randy, Melvin initially suppresses her grief, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of each loss, including that of Dr. Barnheart, her mentor and a vital figure in her life. As she sells her family's house, Melvin embarks on an inward journey that connects her with her ancestors, including notable figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Harriet Tubman, and Ida B. Wells.
Driven by the need to honor her loved ones and actualize her research on reparations for Black Americans, Melvin's grief becomes a catalyst for exploration into the soul realm. Throughout her time-traveling adventures, she imagines a future of freedom for Black people while processing her pain.
This profound narrative explores themes of abandonment, grief, and dissociation, showcasing Melvin's playmaking abilities and terraforming as her superpowers that arise in response to trauma. Ultimately, her journey serves as a testament to resilience, as the world she strives to build has the potential to reshape history itself.
PLAYMAKING
Playmaking is an emerging practice that uses storytelling techniques to dismantle systemic oppression in American workplaces. My work in academia has reminded me of the importance of literature, research and facilitated dialogue that illuminates pathways for liberation and dismantling systemic oppression. As part of my auto-ethnographic dissertation I developed a set of 40 Playmaker tools for dismantling systemic oppression on the intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional and societal level. I hope these resources will provide workplace professionals, researchers and academics with the courage to address systemic challenges in their everyday lives.
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