Meet the Author

Tieshka (pronounced Tish-ka) K. Smith (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based photographer, writer, curator, teaching artist, and cultural content creator. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and is a proud alumna of Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) and DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management.

She uses as many tools at her disposal to challenge and disrupt the status quo. Her community-based artistic practice interrogates racism and classism in place-making and civic identity formation; how neighborhood-level memories and values are shaped; and how the marginalization of people and ideas adversely affects American life and culture. Her photographs have been featured online, in print, and in galleries, museums and other community spaces on the East Coast and the Midwest, and are in several noteworthy private and public collections. Tieshka has received multiple commissions and grant awards for her work. 

Smith began serving as the Festival’s official event photographer in 2015 and will celebrate her 10th year in this role in 2025.  Compositions of Black Joy is her first photo book, and she is excited to be sharing it with photography lovers, Juneteenth, Emancipation and Freedom Day festival organizers, and everyone in between, all around the country and throughout the world.

 Her website is http://tieshkasmith.com.