Christian Ivilla Smith
Art Practices
Christian Smith (she/they) is a multidisciplinary artist and freelance graphic designer living and working in Denver, Colorado for over a decade. She was born in North Carolina and spent her formative years there. Growing up in the South as a mixed race, Black, queer, gender non-conforming woman, has a visible impact on their artwork. They have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado Denver, an Associate degree in Graphic Design from Community College of Denver, and an Associate degree in Culinary Arts from Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Christian was first introduced to art in elementary school and quickly grew a sustained interest in creative practice. My Mixed Experience which debuted on first Friday on Santa Fe in Denver, Colorado was the impetus for a complete career change from culinary arts to fine arts. Since then and upon returning to school, she has shown her work in juried regional exhibitions at Pirate Contemporary Art, The Gallery Below, and Emmanuel Art Gallery.
She works consistently to create and foster spaces that celebrate and support the work of other marginalized people. She hopes to one day co-own a community art space that makes art more accessible for those who struggle to find the resources to participate in art making and invests in anti-colonial art practices that allow creativity to thrive unhindered.
