Bio

Skylar Smith is an artist, curator, and educator. Her work deals with micro and macro perceptions of the natural world, and human-scale politics that influence perception.

Smith’s work has been exhibited regionally and internationally, including at The Parachute Factory, Lexington, KY; The Anne Wright Wilson Gallery at Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY; The Barr Gallery at Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN; Quappi Projects, Louisville, KY; The 1926 Gallery, Chicago, IL; Sanskriti Kendra Foundation, New Delhi, India; and at the Sanbarbh Residency, Partapur, India. She has completed Artist Residencies in India at Sanskriti Kendra and Sanbarbh Residency; and Colegio Trener, an elementary school in Lima, Peru. Smith has curated several exhibitions, including With Child at The Huff Gallery, Louisville, KY; Hangar Show at Cardinal Wings Hangar, Louisville, KY; Wallpaper at Stray Show, Chicago, IL; and Suspension at 1926 Gallery, Chicago, IL. 

In 2020 Smith curated BallotBox, a contemporary art exhibition examining past and present voting rights with support from Kentucky Foundation for Women, Louisville Metro, Louisville Visual Art, and Great Meadows Foundation. BallotBox was on display in Louisville Metro Hall and at 21c Museum Louisville through March 2021. 

In 2019 Smith was selected to participate in the ‘Hadley Creatives’ fellowship program, and grants include Kentucky Foundation for Women ‘Artist Meets Activism’, ‘Artist Enrichment’, and ‘Advancing Democracy, Building Power’ grants, Great Meadows Foundation ‘Artist Professional Development’ grants, and a Great Meadows Foundation ‘Curatorial Travel’ grant.

She is a founding member of Kentucky College of Art + Design (KyCAD), and she has taught college-level art studio and art history courses for over a decade, in addition to teaching at non-profit and alternative-education venues. 

Smith has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also a Certified Yoga Teacher. She has taught at the University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC). Through JCTC, she also taught college-level courses to men and women in prison. She is currently the Artist-In-Residence at Francis Parker School and the Curriculum Developer for Hadley Creatives. Smith resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and two daughters.