About
Photo by Mengwen Cao“Through creating my artwork, I am able to time-travel back to my younger self and heal with them together. Some of the things that my younger self was not able to receive, like certain kinds of love or attention, I can give to them now as an adult.”
—NPR, Embodied Podcast
—NPR, Embodied Podcast
Haruka Aoki (she/they) is a queer Japanese poet-illustrator and hope bender. They write and illustrate a regular narrative art column in The New York Times. Their picture book about a square navigating a world of circles, "Fitting In," was published in 2022 by Sky Pony Press / Simon & Schuster.
Haruka’s narrative artwork aims to inspire individuals with both wit and sincerity as their hand-drawn characters engage the world around them. Growing up often unsure of where “home” would be next, Haruka has befriended the abundant imagination found in nature and community, a constant starting point in their work.
By foraging inspiration from ancestral and metaphysical realms to nurture their artistic practice, they hope to grow and provide an accessible space for collective healing. Haruka often feels deeply grateful to be an earthling.
To keep in touch, subscribe to their newsletter here.
Haruka’s narrative artwork aims to inspire individuals with both wit and sincerity as their hand-drawn characters engage the world around them. Growing up often unsure of where “home” would be next, Haruka has befriended the abundant imagination found in nature and community, a constant starting point in their work.
By foraging inspiration from ancestral and metaphysical realms to nurture their artistic practice, they hope to grow and provide an accessible space for collective healing. Haruka often feels deeply grateful to be an earthling.
To keep in touch, subscribe to their newsletter here.
Awards
The Washington Post, Our Favorite Illustrations of 2024
Society of News Design, Award of Excellence (Visual essays for The New York Times), 2024
Fine Arts Work Center Scholars Award, 2023
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators BIPOC Scholarship, 2023
Publication and Press
The New York Times, An Earthling Reflects on a Wartime Salesman’s Bold Act of Resistance, 2025
The New York Times, An Earthling Tunes In to a Hidden Universal Message, 2024
Casa Fuzetta, The House of Stories, Embracing Artistic Living: Haruka Aoki’s Journey to Portugal, 2024
The New York Times, An Earthling With an Extraterrestrial Pen Pal Imagines a Cooler World, 2024
The New York Times, What if an Earthling and Someone From Outer Space Became Pen Pals?, 2024
Cartoonists for Palestine, Hind Khoudary Speaks About Hamza Dahdouh, 2024
The Washington Post, Does your relationship help you grow? A quiz on expansive relationships, 2024
The Seventh Wave Anthology, As Told by Haruka and Heliodoro, Map of Selves, 2024
Carolyn Yoo’s SEE YOU, Meet My Art Friend: Haruka Aoki, 2023
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Blog, Why You Should Befriend Your Fellow Artists, 2023
Yellow Glitter Podcast, The Value of Identity and Self-Expression with Haruka Aoki, 2023
The New York Times, The Magic of Block Party Season, 2023
The New York Times, Cat Therapy, 2023
The Washington Post, From an ocean away, I’m cherishing every moment I have left with my parents, 2023
The Circle Voice, Groton School, Universal Language: How Haruka Aoki ‘08 Fosters Connections Through Art, 2023
The New York Times, The Acrobatics of Viewing Art, 2023
The New York Times, A Night at the Opera, 2023
The New York Times, A (Bitter) Winter Love Letter, 2023
The New York Times, What Role Do Libraries Play in Your Life?, 2022
Yellow Glitter Podcast, Finding belonging at the intersection of art & activism with Haruka Aoki, 2022
The New York Times, An Ode to the Public Library, 2022
NPR’s Embodied Podcast, Plucked: The Calm and Chaos of A Hair-Pulling Disorder, 2022
The Los Angeles Times, This Plant-Loving New Yorker Visited L.A. for the First Time, 2022
The Washington Post, Growing up, I hid my hair pulling. It was a sign I needed help, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, Neighborly love: Ridgewood residents throw second annual block party, 2022
The Washington Post, This AAPI Heritage Month, I’m done living in fear, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, Ridgewood artist helps create new educational program for city’s Department of Sanitation, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, ‘All about the community’: Ridgewood residents show ‘support and love’ at local block party, 2021
The Washington Post, Our Favorite Illustrations of 2024
Society of News Design, Award of Excellence (Visual essays for The New York Times), 2024
Fine Arts Work Center Scholars Award, 2023
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators BIPOC Scholarship, 2023
Publication and Press
The New York Times, An Earthling Reflects on a Wartime Salesman’s Bold Act of Resistance, 2025
The New York Times, An Earthling Tunes In to a Hidden Universal Message, 2024
Casa Fuzetta, The House of Stories, Embracing Artistic Living: Haruka Aoki’s Journey to Portugal, 2024
The New York Times, An Earthling With an Extraterrestrial Pen Pal Imagines a Cooler World, 2024
The New York Times, What if an Earthling and Someone From Outer Space Became Pen Pals?, 2024
Cartoonists for Palestine, Hind Khoudary Speaks About Hamza Dahdouh, 2024
The Washington Post, Does your relationship help you grow? A quiz on expansive relationships, 2024
The Seventh Wave Anthology, As Told by Haruka and Heliodoro, Map of Selves, 2024
Carolyn Yoo’s SEE YOU, Meet My Art Friend: Haruka Aoki, 2023
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Blog, Why You Should Befriend Your Fellow Artists, 2023
Yellow Glitter Podcast, The Value of Identity and Self-Expression with Haruka Aoki, 2023
The New York Times, The Magic of Block Party Season, 2023
The New York Times, Cat Therapy, 2023
The Washington Post, From an ocean away, I’m cherishing every moment I have left with my parents, 2023
The Circle Voice, Groton School, Universal Language: How Haruka Aoki ‘08 Fosters Connections Through Art, 2023
The New York Times, The Acrobatics of Viewing Art, 2023
The New York Times, A Night at the Opera, 2023
The New York Times, A (Bitter) Winter Love Letter, 2023
The New York Times, What Role Do Libraries Play in Your Life?, 2022
Yellow Glitter Podcast, Finding belonging at the intersection of art & activism with Haruka Aoki, 2022
The New York Times, An Ode to the Public Library, 2022
NPR’s Embodied Podcast, Plucked: The Calm and Chaos of A Hair-Pulling Disorder, 2022
The Los Angeles Times, This Plant-Loving New Yorker Visited L.A. for the First Time, 2022
The Washington Post, Growing up, I hid my hair pulling. It was a sign I needed help, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, Neighborly love: Ridgewood residents throw second annual block party, 2022
The Washington Post, This AAPI Heritage Month, I’m done living in fear, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, Ridgewood artist helps create new educational program for city’s Department of Sanitation, 2022
The Ridgewood Times, ‘All about the community’: Ridgewood residents show ‘support and love’ at local block party, 2021