Downtown Disney Unveils a Stunning Chadwick Boseman Mural
Author and artist Nikkolas Smith created a powerful, gorgeous tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Smith’s work was unveiled at Downtown Disney on Thursday, showing Boseman exchanging the Wakanda salute with a young child wearing a Black Panther mask. It’s a lump-in-your-throat kind of work, simultaneously reminding you the type of person that we lost and the massive impact that he made with his time.
“This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney,” Smith wrote on Instagram, in which he included several photos and a video of the mural. “It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus. To millions of kids, T’Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman. I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way. I am grateful to the Disney family for being so supportive of my journey as an artist.”
Boseman passed away on August 28 at only 43 years of old. His death was a tremendous blow to millions of fans—many of whom had never seen someone who looked like themselves playing a superhero. Boseman was the type of person who not only inspired his younger Black Panther fans, but also his colleagues. The outpouring of grief, and love, and respect, and admiration, that flowed after his passing spoke to a man who moved seemingly everybody he came into contact with. ABC put together a tribute to Boseman only a few days after he passed. The need to honor him and his life was overwhelming. He was loved by those that knew him and beloved by those that looked up to him.
Check out Smith’s beautiful mural here. Although Disneyland is closed, the Downtown Disney shopping and dining district is open, meaning that this moving piece of art is available for people to see.
Featured image: Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER. Black Panther/T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Ph: Film Frame. ©Marvel Studios 2018
