I’m Mickaël Mehala, also known as Black Childish, a Martinican (French Caribbean) visual artist and illustrator based in Amsterdam.
My work is inspired by a blend of my cultural heritage, pop culture, and a sense of (re)imagination, often drawing from the vibrant colors, nature, and people of the Caribbean.
contact: helloblackchildish@gmail.com
EXHIBITIONS
QISSA x Brutus Museum: ‘What Becomes’ (Group Exhibition - Rotterdam, 2026)
OSCAM: ‘Joy Soldiers: The Language’ (Solo Exhibition - Amsterdam, 2026)
Carte Blanche: ‘Joy Soldiers - Unit One’ (Solo Exhibition - Almere, 2025)
Lowlands Festival: Carte Blanche Museum (Group Exhibition - Flevoland, 2025)
Het Nieuwe Instituut: ‘Dutch, More Or Less’ (Group Exhibition - Rotterdam, 2024)
Lowlands Festival: Carte Blanche Museum (Group Exhibition - Flevoland, 2024)
OSCAM: ‘Digital Expressions: Black Joy’ (Group Exhibition - Online, 2023)
RECOGNITION
ADC Awards: Bronze Cube, Illustration Category - ‘Joy Soldiers - Unit One’ (2025)
ADC Awards: Silver Cube, Illustration Category - WeTransfer Project (2024)
OFFF Barcelona Project Competition: Winner, 3D/Motion Category - ‘Omek Summit’ `(2023)
Young Guns x Colorful: Finalist - Portfolio Competition (2023)
JURY PARTICIPATION
D&AD Awards - Illustration Category (2024)
PUBLIC SPEAKING
OFFF Barcelona - Winner of ‘On The Rise’ Design Competition: Presentation of‘Omek Summit 2022’
Adsterdam - Omek Stage: ‘The Value of Personal Projects’ (2025)
Het Nieuwe Instituut - Pecha Kucha: Portfolio Presentation (2026)
PRESS AND FEATURES
Almere Deze Week: ‘Carte Blanche opens pop-up museum Joy Soldiers in Almere Centrum’ (Jan 2025)
Omroep Flevoland: ‘Toy soldiers become ‘Joy Soldiers’ in pop-up museum Almere’ (Jan 2025)
Almere Deze Week: ‘Joy Soldiers exhibition wins international award in New York’ (May 2025)
Creative Review: ‘Illustrator Black Childish on embracing imperfections’ (May 2024)
Complex NL: ‘Deze Nederlandse Kunstenaars Moet Je In De Gaten Houden’ (Feb 2024)
WePresent: ‘How the artist created his animations for WeTransfer’ (Sep 2023)
Carte Blanche - First Issue: ‘Let It Burn’, Joy Soldiers by Black Childish - page 52 (May 2023)
SELECTED CLIENTS
WeTransfer
Channel 4
Spotify
DoorDash
ADE • Concertgebouw
Lowlands
Het Nieuwe Instituut
VPRO
Omek
Playgrounds In Motion Festival
New-York African Film Festival
Konbini
EDUCATION
LISAA: Bachelor Graphic Design - Paris (2014)
Gobelins: Motion Design, 1 year program degree - Paris (2015)
SELECTED MENTORING
QISSA: Visual Storytellers - 6 months artist development program, The Netherlands (2025)
SKILLS
Illustration - 3D Art - 2D/3D Animation - Painting - Graphic Design - Motion Design - Art Direction