We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annabelle Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Annabelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
In my senior year of high school, before I had made any concrete decision regarding my post-grad plans, my current university hosted an Open House. I was struggling to decide between a liberal arts education and a traditional art school. The fear of being pigeon-holed hovered over me, but I didn’t want art to fall second behind some required course. At the Open House, I was fortunate enough to meet my future sculpture professor. Dr. Raymond Saa took a few interested students on a tour of the arts facilities, which were surprisingly substantial considering the university’s holistic approach. Afterwards, Raymond and I sat on a bench outside the studio and discussed college decisions.
He didn’t take the conversation as an opportunity to sell me on university. Instead, he told me about his own experiences teaching at a fine arts college and how it compared. Liberal arts provided more opportunity to explore and discover new passions, skills that would then diversify my practice. His willingness to speak to me, his kindness in sitting down and explaining, meant so much to me. It completely changed my perspective on arts education. Without that dialogue, I wouldn’t have attended the university I have. I might not have discovered sculpture. I certainly would not have gotten the same amount of opportunities and same quality of mentorship. As creatives, we have to lift each other up. Our world needs shoulders to stand on.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m an artist from New Jersey. My first love was writing. In fact, that was originally what I was going to university for. But, I discovered sculpture through an introductory course my first semester and never looked back. Although my work incorporates a variety of mediums, I have been technically trained in 3D fabrication the most. I use a lot of recycled materials in my sculptures, like cardboard and plastic. I think it’s important to consider where materials originate. Reinvention is an essential element in everything I create.
My practice is somewhat balanced between this and digital initiatives. I am the founding editor of TODAY GIRL, an online magazine centered on exploring present societal friction through a nostalgic, Web 1.0 aesthetic. The magazine is a constant work-in-progress, considering it’s entirely self-written and self-coded. Despite challenges, I believe it best represents why I create. I’m driven by a passion for nurturing femme art, and a need to carve out independent, exploratory niches within domineering platforms.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
There are so few spaces for femme creatives to gather and collaborate without anxiety. My hope is to nurture opportunity through my work, whether that be explicitly collaborative – like TODAY GIRL – or more philosophically communal, like my sculptures. As our lives become more and more integrated in digital reality, continuing to question the intentions of what we consume is essential. What is the Internet for? More essentially, what are humans for? How do we use each other and why are we often destructive? Visual art has the power to change society and politics because it has the power to change people; That’s what fuels my work.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being a creative allows me to communicate in a style wholly my own. I’m engaging in dialogue through my work that includes not only my present audience but future observers, past artists. I’ve always struggled to translate thought into plain action. Art alleviates any pressure to conform around a predetermined, ‘valid’ way of communication. I know my work will drive my dreams and messages, often in unexpected or unconscious ways. I welcome this give-and-take.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://todaygirl.neocities.org
- Instagram: @thevelveteengrrl
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annabelle-smith-a2a974289/
- Youtube: @annabelles1692
