Nail Art

The Smithsonian invited three nail artists to design nail art sets inspired by the art, artifacts, and stories featured in our museums. In this nine-part video series, follow Ameya Okamoto, Santana Walker, and Celeste Hampton as they create nails rooted in their experience in Washington, D.C.

This project received support from the Digital Initiatives Pool Funds, administered by the Smithsonian Office of Digital Transformation.

Meet the Artists

Ameya Okamoto

Headshot of a woman covered with colorful stickers, displaying nail art on hands.

Ameya Okamoto is a New York-based multidisciplinary artist and licensed nail technician whose practice spans concept-driven sculptural nail art, ceramics, and painting, often reflecting themes of Asian American identity and cultural heritage. Her work has been featured by outlets including ABC News Live and CBS News Chicago, with hashtags like #nailsbyameya amassing over 100M views on TikTok. She is preparing to open her first nail salon in 2025.

Santana Walker

Headshot of a woman wearing a white shirt and a black blazer with long brown hair.

Indigenous entrepreneur and aesthetic innovator Santana Walker (Squamish Nation) is dedicated to merging beauty with cultural heritage. Santana is the owner of a full-service spa located on the Capilano Reserve in North Vancouver, where she specializes in Indigenous nail art that celebrates her rich cultural roots, built on over 17 years of experience in the aesthetics beauty industry. She received the BC Aboriginal Business Award in 2014, was a featured guest on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network's first talk show, and shared her entrepreneurial spirit as a contestant on Bear's Lair. As a devoted mother of four, Santana creates a nurturing environment for her family and her clients. She aims to inspire others and elevate Indigenous representation in beauty.

Celeste Hampton

Headshot of a woman wearing a red shirt with a blue background.

Celeste Hampton is a celebrity nail artist and owner of Designs by Celestial Nails, LLC, located in Waldorf, Maryland, where she merges beauty, wellness, and self-care in her private one-on-one salon studio. Her artistry has graced the hands of so many notable clients like Teyana Taylor, Missy Elliot, and Brittany S. Hall, and she gained national attention as a contestant on Oxygen Network's first-ever nail competition, Nail’d It! Celeste's passion for wellness extends far beyond aesthetics. Influenced by a childhood that celebrated creativity and the strength of Black womanhood, Celeste channels those values into her work, offering elite services and organic products while also educating and mentoring other nail technicians on every level.

Explore the Smithsonian with Ameya

Inspiration for Ameya

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Diary: December 12, 1941

This title references a date that fell between the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. issuing of Executive Order 9066 that incarcerated 120,000 innocent Japanese Americans during World War II.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Electronic Superhighway

Ameya Okamoto finds belonging in works such as Nam June Paik’s Electronic Superhighway and expresses her identity in the art she creates.

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

Chinatown Arch

Architect Alfred H. Liu’s Friendship Arch has anchored Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown since it was installed in the 1980s. Chinatown arches inspire Okamoto’s nail art design today.

Explore the Smithsonian with Santana

Inspiration for Santana

Black, blue, brown, and green ink on paper depicting the story of Qoitcital returning to his village.

National Museum of the American Indian

Te Qoitcital The Serpent Slayer

Walker fuses traditional design, like this formline print from Floyd Joseph (Tyee), with modern techniques. She shared how meaningful it was to personally engage with art created by her fellow Squamish Nation members.

National Museum of the American Indian

Totem Pole

As a descendant of traditional woodcarvers, Walker was moved by the historic Pacific Northwest Coast totem poles that show formline at a massive scale which she applies at a much smaller scale on nail designs.

Grey goose feathers are sewn together to make a majestic looking dress displayed on a mannequin.

National Museum of the American Indian

Bell Bird

Walker is inspired by Indigenous fashion as well, such as this dress inspired by the world’s loudest bird, the white bell bird, made by contemporary Indigenous designer Jontay Kahm (Plains Cree, b. 1996).

Explore the Smithsonian with Celeste

Inspiration for Celeste

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Reclaiming My Time

Celeste explored the intersection of labor and leisure in exhibitions such as Reclaiming My Time, which features work by contemporary Black designers that engages ideas about cultural heritage, bodies at rest, and histories of labor and leisure.

Rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on wood panel showing a Black woman lounging on a couch.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Portrait of Mnonja

Inspired by this portrait by Mickalene Thomas, Hampton was moved by how the artwork captures the beauty and essence of Black women through bold colors, patterns, sparkling rhinestones, and textures.

Collage art that depicts two Black women sitting with drinks and a table with items like tarot cards and food.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Kitten Meal

Reflecting on how the artworks in the Reclaiming My Time exhibition, such as Kitten Meal from Rachelle Baker seen here, represent a sense of being at peace, Celeste noted, “Kitten Meal represented Black women as we are together.”

A close-up of a person's hands displaying nails featuring a variety of colorful and artistic designs.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

African American Nail Art

For Black women, nail art is more than just a fashion statement. By embracing bold and complex nail designs, African American women assert their autonomy and challenge traditional beauty standards that often exclude them. Nail art has become a way to reclaim space and visibility.

Learn more