Dionne Benjamin Smith (born 1970, Nassau, The Bahamas) - Graphic Designer/Printmaker/Visual Artist - studied at The College of The Bahamas where she received an AA in Fine Art in 1986 with distinction. In 1991, she went on to earn a BFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) where she graduated with honours.
Benjamin-Smith has achieved commercial success as a professional graphic designer and critical regard as a printmaker whose work is described as “keen social commentary.” She comes from generations of printmakers on both her mother's and father's sides of the family. Her printmaking has been discussed and featured in critical art journals including "Small Axe," published by the Duke University Press, and in essays by noted writers, art curators and historians. Her work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in The Bahamas and around the world.
Benjamin-Smith and her husband, artist Jolyon Smith, own and operate Smith & Benjamin Art & Design, a progressive art and graphic design firm located in Nassau which specializes in graphic design, custom illustration, fine art, art promotion, art brokerage and publishing. As a service of their company, they publish the weekly e-Newsletter "Bahamian Art & Culture" which highlights local and regional news and events in Bahamian art & culture. Currently, by appointment of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, she serves as a member of the National Advisory Council on Public Records and is the screening committee chairman of a local arts scholarship.
Benjamin-Smith's fine artwork can be found in The National Collection of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas as well as the art collections of the D'Aguilar Art Foundation (Bahamas), Dawn Davies (Bahamas), Michael & Betsy Dingman (USA and Bahamas), the Charles Searles Estate (New York), actress Demi Moore (USA) and in other private collections in The Bahamas and around the world.
Benjamin-Smith states: "I believe passionately in truth and what is right. My concerns and observations of the world around me are played out in my work and can be described as social commentary. I am driven to tell a story, to shine a light, to make things clear, even to uplift and encourage. I hope to make people see the naked emperor riding atop the pink elephant. And though I tend to take on weighty subjects sometimes, I try to deliver the message with a bit of wit and whimsy – in an effort to offer “a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.” It is my wish to engage the audience to think, see and understand. And then, hopefully, to change the world around them for the better."
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