In The Studio: Dionne Benjamin-Smith

Bahamian-American artist Dionne Benjamin-Smith will be in conversation with Marina Reyes Franco, curator at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico. This program will be held in conjunction with our current exhibition, Tropical Is Political: Caribbean Art Under the Visitor Economy Regime. The artist will discuss her work in the exhibition as it relates to her artistic practice.

Join us live on Instagram from your cell phone, or watch on YouTube after, for a series of remote visits to artists' studios to bring Americas Society's Visual Arts public programs to your home. Check out the series playlist.

About the artist

Bahamian-American artist Dionne Benjamin-Smith has achieved critical regard and success as a professional graphic designer and printmaker. She has earned degrees in art and design from The College of The Bahamas and the Rhode Island School of Design. After university, Dionne worked as a commercial designer in key design and management positions at high-end agencies and corporations. Since 2004, Dionne and her artist husband, Jolyon Smith, have successfully operated their own art and design firm, an independent publishing press, and an art glass foundry. Dionne is also well known for establishing a popular online creative platform that features up-to-date art, design, and cultural content from The Bahamas. As a visual artist, Dionne’s printmaking has been described as “iconoclastic, smart and passionate” and often uses tongue-in-cheek references to deliver her observations of art, culture and society. Her work has been discussed and featured in international art journals and publications as well as in essays and articles by noted writers, curators and historians. Dionne continues to exhibit her print work in group exhibitions at home and internationally. Her work has been collected by private and museum collections in The Bahamas, US, and Europe.

About the guest speaker

Marina Reyes Franco is a Curator at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC). In 2010, she co-founded La Ene, an itinerant museum and collection. Recent projects include El momento del yagrumo and La llave / la clave, at MAC, San Juan; De Loiza a la Loiza, a MAC en el Barrio public art commission by Daniel Lind Ramos; Resisting Paradise, at Publica, San Juan and Fonderie Darling, Montreal; Watch your step / Mind your head, ifa-Galerie Berlin; The 2nd Grand Tropical Biennial in Loiza, Puerto Rico; Sucursal, MALBA in Buenos Aires, and numerous exhibitions at La Ene.

Visit the Americas Society Visual Arts YouTube Channel for recordings of In the Studio Series and other previous events.

Follow the conversation on Instagram: #IntheStudioAS | @americassociety.visualarts

More digital content from Visual Arts at Americas Society:

• Check out the current exhibition Tropical Is Political: Caribbean Art Under the Visitor Economy Regime.
• Check out the current iteration of our Flag Series: nibia pastrana santiago – YOUR ISLAND HERE.
• Read about the previous exhibition Geles Cabrera: Museo Escultórico.
• Read the exhibition catalogue for This Must Be the Place: Latin American Artists in New York, 1965–1975.
• Watch videos of recent events:
  • Geles Cabrera: Museo Escultórico
  • Young Filmmakers in New York: Collective Visions Screening
  • This Must Be The Place: An Oral History Book Launch
  • This Must Be the Place: Latin American Artists in New York, 1965–1975
  • Terence Gower: The Good Neighbor