My name’s Tiana Smith and I’m a Black, Queer, Femme multidisciplinary artist that is driven to tell stories about identity and self discovery through photography, videography and art curation.

I was born and raised in Canada. I consider home to be where I am when I’m surrounded by my family.

Looking back on my high school experience, my attention was drawn to poetry club and my public speaking class. I was grateful to have opportunities where I was positioned to be a leader. Moments that have often stood out to me during high school have been during Black History Month surprisingly. I went to a predominantly white school, and the teachers were at a loss for how to celebrate black lives during Black History Month. The faculty always relied on their black students to organize events for Black History Month. One year I remember putting together a video documentary interviewing the students, and teachers at my school. I had asked them to speak about the first thing that came to mind when they thought about Black History Month. Their answers were very telling; They had very limited knowledge about black people, and our history.

If I could give my younger self any advice it would be to celebrate who you are everyday, and to never shrink yourself. I would tell myself that my identity is valid, and that I should never apologize for who I am.

Some of my biggest challenges that I’ve had to face while growing up in Canada has been having to deal with microaggressions about my blackness. As “multicultural” as Canada has been positioned to be, the people in this country have made me feel small. For some reason the most memorable moments that I’ve had about Canada have been when I’ve had to memorize the national anthem. I also recall moments when I’ve been punished for not having the “correct” etiquette during the national anthem, or during Remembrance Day events. As I continue to grow into my life as a black woman I, and many members of the BIPOC community, have always seen racial injustice become more, and more prevalent in our lives. In addition, one of the biggest challenges that I've faced while living in Canada has been seeing our justice/government system continue to fail many BIPOC. This has been about more than the microaggressions that people of color face. Many of the injustices that BIPOC face affect our livelihood, and future when living in Canada.

From my childhood, even to this moment, I have sometimes felt not Caribbean enough because I haven’t had a strong connection to my Jamaican background. My mom and my father grew up in Canada, my grandparents on both sides grew up in Jamaica. I haven’t had an opportunity to ever travel to Jamaica. My sense of home has been creating a connection to my Jamaican family, while living in Canada.

I first started dating when I was in college, I was still exploring my sexuality, and my identity as a queer black woman. I’ve dated both outside of my race and within my race. Looking back, I’ve had stronger connections to the black women that I’ve dated. The intersection of my Jamaican identity, and my queer identity has been difficult to intertwine. I haven’t had the opportunity to share my dating life with my family because homophobia runs deep in Jamaican culture. I never want to be in a position to defend who I am in front of closed minds. Sharing who I am and sharing the connections that I’ve made with important people in my life, is a privilege that not everyone in my family will have the opportunity to hear about. I am not ashamed of myself, or who I am, but I also understand that I owe it to myself to protect important things in my life.

I grew up in a single parent household and my mom was my primary care taker. My mom did the best that she could to provide a life for me, she did the best that she could to put me in positions to accept great opportunities, and she did the best that she could financially. Being happy, accomplished, financially independent, and successful are a few expectations that I believe my mom has had for me. Even with the support that she has given me throughout my life, I still carry a sense of guilt or shame. While learning about myself, and what I want for my future I’ve sometimes felt like I’ve let my mom down. I can recognize the sacrifices that she’s made for me to have this life, and at times I’ve felt that I’ve taken it for granted. I want to be in a position to make up for the loss that my mom has experienced by not taking my life for granted. She has taught me so much about myself, and what I want for my future. I do hope that she is proud of what I've accomplished in my life thus far.

Being a queer black artist, while growing up in Canada, I have often felt displaced. Creating in Toronto has given me an opportunity to connect with a variety of artists, community spaces, and QTIBIPOC. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the chance to find people and community spaces that have allowed me to feel seen. Community is important to me because without community voices go unheard. In 2018 and 2019 I had an opportunity to curate an art showcase for queer artists of colour, I was able to create a space that advocated for visibility and representation.

I aspire to create a future for myself that celebrates who I am in all walks of my life. Telling stories about identity and self discovery through feature films primarily, and other art mediums is something that I hope that I have the opportunity to create. I also want to be able to lease an art gallery space predominantly for queer artists of colour. I want my future to be filled with opportunity, and success.

Check out Tiana’s stunning work below:

Find Tiana on the internet at: @teetrx and https://www.digitalteee.com.