Meet Uli Smith | Artist, Muralist, & Public Health Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Uli Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Uli, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am a self-taught artist who was born and raised in the Bay Area. I started painting with acrylics as a teenager for fun, and would paint during my free time from school, really any chance I could get. Even as a young child, I have always considered myself to be crafty and artistically inclined. However, I am from a socio-economically disadvantaged household, and because of this, I did not feel as though I could pursue my love for creating and the arts in a professional manner. I felt immense pressure to get a well paying job to survive in this world. A long and winding road led me to a health career and graduating with my Masters of Public Health in 2019. After a pandemic we all know and loathe rolled through, I was guiltily thrilled to have all the extra time to pursue my love of painting, and to see what was possible if I pursued it wholeheartedly.

Now, I find myself at the intersection of arts and public health, with a commitment to making art more accessible and a unique perspective on how art and culture can influence one’s health. I care deeply about beautifying spaces through public art, especially in historically oppressed and marginalized communities, with a particular interest in how art can garner a greater sense of community pride and identity. My passion for murals and public art stems from an understanding that the physical environment of where we live, learn, work and play greatly impacts our personal and collective health and wellbeing. I believe in the capacity for art to heal people and spaces, build community, and be a catalyst for social change.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I believe I got to where I am today by showing up wholeheartedly. By putting myself and my art out there whenever and wherever I can. By allowing myself to be vulnerable and knowing that I have a story that is worth sharing. It has been a lot of hard work and a lot of learning (artists that have made and upkeep a website know what I am talking about). One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that building connections with other artists and the art community around you is pivotal to one’s success. Go to other artists showing at galleries, volunteer at community events, apply for the programs, and keep showing up for you and your community. It really makes a difference.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m based out of Sacramento, CA and I would encourage folks to head over to Del Paso Boulevard. You can jump on one of those e-bikes or scooters and check out all the great murals from local artists. Stop at Shift Coffee for a drink or have lunch at Colo’s Soul Food. There’s antiques and thrift shops as well as art galleries you can pop in and check out.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shout out my grandmother, no longer with us, but still a large influence on the art I make and the concepts I explore within it. I spent a large portion of my childhood in her care and she provided me with the aspiration to be creative and the deep love I have and inspiration I feel by nature. She was a Mexican immigrant and while done out of caution and care, my family’s American assimilation has created a barrier to my ancestral culture that I continue to grapple with. I find myself using my art as an attempt to build a bridge back to it and make a deeper connection with her and my Mexican heritage.

I’d also like to shout out my partner, Ian, for being so supportive of both my academic and artistic endeavors. Whether it’s the financial support that provided me breathing room to finish my degree without working or the fact I converted the kitchen table to as my paint studio for the first year of my practice, he has been patient and generous through it all.

Website: paintbyuli.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/paintbyuli or @paintbyuli

Facebook: www.facebook.com/paintbyuli

Image Credits
Madison Taylor