Daniela Smith-Fernandez was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba to a Chilean father and a Canadian mother. This experience of being bicultural is at the root of her personal identity and creative practice. Beyond this, she also lives and works extensively in French in the Francomanitoban communities. Her work is inspired by the desire to engage deeply - with cultural traditions, with multiple languages, and above all with people on both emotional and intellectual levels. She began sewing and telling stories at five years old and never really stopped.

In a life best described as eclectic, Daniela has collected a BA in anthropology, a certificate in textile surface design, an incomplete diploma in tailoring, and the first year of a French language education degree. She lived in Montreal for six years, where she was involved in making costumes and props for theatre and burlesque shows. Along the way she lived in a tent for a summer, waitressed, taught writing skills to international students, got a couple tattoos, published theatre reviews, travelled in Central America and taught French language art classes to children. 

Daniela’s visual work is inspired by the concept of the shining cloth, which is the idea that all cultures used materials that shine or reflect light as a way of calling on the spirit world. She draws on the work of Latin American magical realists who portray a world that is rich, vivid and multilayered. Her work also often displays a certain satirical irreverence for the status quo, something which is deeply rooted in her leftist political background. As an artist, she likes to poke at accepted wisdom about the way the world should be. She loves the world too much to believe that inequalities are inevitable, and believes we can all do better.

Daniela lives with two fluffy cats in the St Boniface neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba. She loves working with children, who are strange creatures full of wonder and curiosity. She is a member of Miradorx Art Collective, a group of women and gender diverse artists on the Canadian prairies. When she isn’t making art, she does her time with various day jobs, bartends and is very involved with her community.