--- description: Find out why Mickalene Thomas is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Mickalene Thomas: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23ad96d881fb9b55/6998c5c166d4e38b17cbc603/time100-2025-mickalene-thomas.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Mickalene Thomas by Alicia Keys  Mickalene Thomas at the show she co-curated at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Conn., on Aug. 8, 2023\. In "Mickalene Thomas/Portrait of an Unlikely Space," the artist designs a show blending fact and speculation about the lives of Black Americans whose stories have largely been lost. (Malike Sidibe/The New York Times) Mickalene Thomas at the show she co-curated at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Conn., on Aug. 8, 2023\. In "Mickalene Thomas/Portrait of an Unlikely Space," the artist designs a show blending fact and speculation about the lives of Black Americans whose stories have largely been lost. (Malike Sidibe/The New York Times)Malike Sidibe—The New York Times/Redux As artists, it can often feel like we’re expected to stay consistent, stay the course, just keep doing what we’ve always done. But Mickalene Thomas doesn’t subscribe to that way of thinking. With her art—including in “All About Love,” her exhibition [currently on tour](https://www.thebroad.org/art/special-exhibitions/mickalene-thomas-all-about-love "undefined")—she’s constantly creating new lanes, breaking boundaries, and exceeding expectations. She plays in all realms—photography, painting, video, fashion, furniture—and creates stunning, dynamic worlds in every one. Even across different mediums, she’s able to create synergy between all of her pieces. You can tell right away when you’re looking at something created by Mickalene. She’s a mastermind at conveying poignant messages through striking visuals, and stepping into one of her shows feels like entering another world—it’s one of many reasons my husband, Kasseem Dean, and I are so honored to include her work in The Dean Collection. There’s nothing else quite like it. Mickalene herself is walking art. She has such a distinct presence and aura that it’s impossible not to feel inspired by her. The art and the artist both are bold, fearless, and fierce. She is uncontainable, a true giant! _Keys is a Grammy-winning musician_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273768/mickalene-thomas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273768/mickalene-thomas/"},"headline":"Mickalene Thomas","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:45:59.451Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273768/mickalene-thomas/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","T100innovators2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23ad96d881fb9b55/6998c5c166d4e38b17cbc603/time100-2025-mickalene-thomas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23ad96d881fb9b55/6998c5c166d4e38b17cbc603/time100-2025-mickalene-thomas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273768/mickalene-thomas/","name":"Mickalene Thomas"}}]}] ```