Years ago, I stumbled upon the work of an artist on Instagram that captured my eye. I didn’t know much about him. All I knew was that he was a fellow Lynn resident and that he could pick up some paint brushes and create astonishing works of art.

Michael Terrell Aghahowa is an award-winning artist and professor at Northeastern University and Emmanuel College, where he teaches drawing and painting. Even if you have not heard of Aghahowa, you most likely have seen his art around the city. Some of his works include “Estefani’s mural,” which can be seen at Estefani’s Restaurant on Union Street, and the “Food For Thought” mural at Ernie’s Harvest Time on Essex Street, which he painted with Cinda Danh with help from The Food Project and a few volunteers. Not only that, but his work has been featured in a variety of different art exhibitions in Lynn and nearby communities.

I had the opportunity to go to Aghahowa’s studio space in Downtown Lynn, where I was able to chat with him and get a glimpse of the works he has created throughout his life. We talked about his art and the Lynn-inspired apparel that he dropped last year.

When I asked Aghahowa if he had always wanted to be an artist, it seemed he had pretty much known that was what he wanted to do since kindergarten. Other ideas that he had considered were being a basketball player or construction worker. 

“My grandfather owned a construction company, Hope Truck and Demolition. My oldest uncle runs it now, but for a second I thought I wanted to take over the family business!” Aghahowa said. “But ever since kindergarten, I just loved being creative. Every time there was a class project, I’m in there. Me and my mom are going in on it. My mom was like, ‘We’re gonna win that prize!’ My mom was mad competitive. Ever since an early age I’ve always loved being creative.”

He was also inspired to become an artist by watching cartoons.

“Once I figured out that it could be a job, I started going in on creating my own characters,” Aghahowa said.

He showed me works that he had created when he was younger, featuring drawings inspired by characters from shows such as “Looney Tunes.” He studied shows like “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Codename: Kids Next Door,” and “Ed, Edd, n Eddy,” which sparked his interest in becoming an animator.

Aghahowa enjoys a lot of artists, but one influence he mentioned is his aunt Darlene, or Aunty Daow as he calls her, who is a photographer.  

“She doesn’t call herself that, but she’s always been a person that has just taken photos. All my life, since I was a kid, always with a camera, ‘chi, chi, chi!’ and she has probably taken a majority of the family photos, all the good ones,” Aghahowa said. “So, I’m really inspired by her, and maybe that’s why I’m so into portraiture, partially. As I get older, I’ve grown a bigger appreciation for her and the moments that she has captured.”

Musicians also inspire Aghahowa, especially rappers.

“I feel like they’re telling me life lessons, like good hip-hop. Such as Jay-Z, Nipsey Hussle, older rappers from the ‘80s… people who are trying to spit knowledge to you… I love that,” Aghahowa said.

In terms of painters, Aghahowa listed the likes of Kerry James Marshall, Jordan Casteel, Kara Walker, and Kehinde Wiley, to name a few. 

Aghahowa pointed out different artists he enjoys from the books on his shelves and the CDs he had on display. One of the singers he enjoys, Etta James, caught my attention, as she’s one of the all-time greats who gave us classics such as “At Last” and “I’d Rather Go Blind.”

“Me and my mom used to listen to her when we were cleaning the house,” Aghahowa said.

“Lynn has always had this negative stereotype. You know, ‘Lynn Lynn, city of sin.’ You know, every city has its dangerous areas, or things that are not favorable, but there are a lot of beautiful things about Lynn,”

– Michael Terrell Aghahowa

Someone in Aghahowa’s life who steered his artistic style in a certain direction was his grandmother, especially in his early art. 

“My grandmother used to keep the house really clean, like pristine. And my studio doesn’t reflect that because this is a place I come to make a mess, but in my early cartoons the lines were so clean. There was no sketchiness, just a clean line, and I feel like maybe there’s some correlation there,” Aghahowa said. “The house would be spotless, every room, and she’s an artist. So she would be decorating the drapery, taking pillowcases and adding floral patterns to them. Decorating is her thing.”

Aghahowa proceeded to point out some paintings he had hung up around the studio and some of their characteristics — how expressive they are, how much movement is in them, how some areas of them are more controlled than others, and the rusty textures in some of them.

“I lived in Lynn my whole life and to see it change from when I was a kid to now, there used to be empty lots before all these new houses were here,” Aghahowa said. “Seeing buildings be torn down… just the ever-changing feeling of a city I think sort of translates to my art. The feeling it can shift at any time. And I feel like that happens a lot in my work.”

Aghahowa’s love for Lynn drove him to create apparel inspired by the city.

“I have a strong love for Lynn because my family has been here for a few generations. Even when I look back at old photos from the ‘80s and see Lynn and what it looked like then… that’s crazy to me,” Aghahowa said. “My memory is only of Lynn. There’s pictures of my family from the South, but I don’t know anything about that. To see Lynn in the ‘80s, before I was born, it’s kinda cool and helps me connect dots of past, present, and future.”

Although he has a strong love for Lynn, he realizes that it gets a bad reputation.

“Lynn has always had this negative stereotype. You know, ‘Lynn Lynn, city of sin.’ You know, every city has its dangerous areas, or things that are not favorable, but there are a lot of beautiful things about Lynn,” Aghahowa said. “Lynn has a rich history and I wanted to create a shirt, and a design, that felt contemporary and colorful that you could rock with your shoes, match with your hat. Something nice, and I wanted to bring a really nice quality shirt that you don’t really have access to and have it be at an affordable price. Because people deserve some nice stuff. People from Lynn are really prideful, you know. Hearing myself, I know that there’s other people.”

Becoming a dad not too long ago, Aghahowa found himself at home more than at the studio. He wanted to keep his creativity alive and bring attention to his art at the same time. 

“On the shirts, you’ll see tags with my logo on it and my website because it’s kind of like a walking business card,” Aghahowa said. “People go to the website, click around, and get access to my art work… see videos of my murals. Now when they’re walking around the city, they could be like ‘Oh, Michael painted that mural. He’s the one who makes these shirts.’ I’m really involved in my city, and I want to be more involved.”

Due to his limited space, Aghahowa plans to keep the line to just shirts and sweatshirts, but would consider expanding upon it if more space became available. If you plan to purchase the Lynn Tee or the Lynn Sweatshirt, you can find them at Aghahowa’s website, at the Lynn Museum, or at Ravenstone in Downtown Lynn.