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Tiffany Smith is a distinguished artist who uses a combination of photography, video, design, and installations to create artwork that draws attention to issues faced by minority communities. She draws inspiration for her art from her multicultural upbringing. She currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Early Life
Tiffany Smith was born in Miami to a mother from Trinidad/Guyana and a father from Jamaica. She was raised in Miami, Florida and Nassau, Bahamas. Her Caribbean roots and the places she grew up in have influenced her artistic choices, styles, and themes. Being exposed to different communities and cultures at such a young age played a huge role in how Smith’s art draws attention to issues faced by minority communities such as identity, cultural ambiguity, and representation.

Education
Tiffany Smith brought her cultural perspective to Miami-Dade College in Miami, where she earned an Associate degree in Film Production in 2001. In 2007, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography with a minor in Graphic Design from the Savannah School of Art and Design. She then went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts focusing on Photo, Video and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2015.

Jobs
Besides creating her own artworks, Smith has served as a studio assistant for companies like Meryl Truett Photography, Kaikai Kiki, NY LLC, and currently at the School of Visual Arts, where she has worked for seven years. She has also been a Freelance photographer and graphic designer since January 2003 under T.SMITH PHOTO AND DESIGN. She also holds workshops and training sessions for aspiring and curious artists through Recess Art.

Artworks and Exhibitions
Tiffany Smith is known for her mixed media and interdisciplinary artwork, more specifically, photographic portraits and site-responsive installations. Her main mediums for these works are plant matter, home decor, as well as other references to cultural aspects of her upbringing. While her works are contemporary, they bring attention to the stereotypes that people of color feel confined to, as well as the ways that communities of color embrace their cultural identity and heritage. Smith’s most notable works are For Tropical Girls Who Have Considered Ethnogenesis When the Native Sun is Remote and A Woman, Phenomenally.

Exhibitions:

2017 Bronx Calling: The Fourth AIM Biennial - Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY

Re: Art Show One Year Anniversary Show - (Alternative space - reclaimed Pfizer facility), Brooklyn, NY

A Dark Rock Surged Upon - Garner Arts Festival, Garnerville, NY

Round 46 | Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter at Project Row Houses -

(collective project co-curated by Ryan N. Dennis and Simone Leigh) - Project Row Houses, Houston, Texas

SPRING/BREAK Art Show - Conde Nast building, Times Square, NYC

Jamaica Biennial 2017 - National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica

Plant Life - Space Create, Newburgh, NY (Solo exhibit)

For Tropical Girls... - The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY (Solo exhibit)

2016 Make Me Feel Like A Woman - (curated by Wardell Milan), Long Gallery, Harlem, NY

Re: Art Show - (Alternative space - reclaimed Pfizer facility), Brooklyn, NY

Psychedelic Pantry Party - Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY (Screening)

Flux Art Fair, Harlem - Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem, NY (Public Project)

Unabashedly, The Roger Smith Hotel, New York, NY

Color of the Year - presented by X-Rite and Pantone, UICA, Grand Rapids, MI

All Your Wide Futures, The Gateway Project, Newark, NJ (Public Project)

2015 SAMO Journey - Photo NOLA, PORT, New Orleans, LA

International Photo Festival, Leiden, The Netherlands

Photoville 2015, Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York, NY

Published by the Artist, International Print Center, New York, NY

Ticka Arts, O2 Gallery, Austin, TX

Licking the Trigger, SVA Gramercy Gallery, New York, NY

MFA Photo/Video 2015 Thesis, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York, NY

2014 Jamaica Biennial 2014, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica

Greenpoint Open Studios, 37 Greenpoint Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

The Collective Other, SVA BFA Photo Galleries, New York, NY, (Co-Curator)

2013 All Staff Art Show, SVA Gramercy Gallery, New York, NY

2011 Can’t Hear the Revolution, Kunsthalle Galapagos, Brooklyn, NY

Temptation, Pop Up Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2010 Miami’s Independent Thinkers|Miami’s It, Art Basel Satellite Fair, Miami, FL

Transform, Sho Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2009 Miami’s Independent Thinkers|Miami’s It, Art Basel Satellite Fair, Miami, FL

B-Girl Be, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis, MN

2007 So Much Clarity in a Sunny Day, Pop Up Gallery, Savannah, GA

Block 80, Art Box, Miami, FL, (Co-Curator)

Hip Hop Heads, Dimensions Gallery, Savannah, GA, (Solo Exhibit)

Involvement in the Black Lives Matter Movement
Tiffany Smith is a part of the Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter (BWA for BLM), which stands in solidarity against the inhumane institutionalized violence against black people. Smith’s art focuses on the issues faced by people of color in an effort to empower and encourage the black community to strongly oppose injustice. Her installation titled Panic Room: A Safe Space for Reflection on the Value of Black Lives incorporated plant life and sounds from nature to create a calm and reflective makeshift altar to recognize female family members of victims of police brutality as they struggle to cope with their tragedy. Smith hopes her artwork will enable collective healing through community support and wants to continue to use her art to raise awareness about issues that affect communities of color.

Awards and Recognition
Smith has received many honors and awards for her work. She received an Honorable Mention twice at the CCNY Annual Juried Competition in 2015 and 2016. She was also a nominee in 2016 for PDN 30, a photography competition. In 2016, she also received a grant from the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance. Most recently, she won 2nd place for the annual ArtSlant Prize Showcase.