Tim Smith
Manitoba-based photographer Tim Smith has spent seventeen years documenting life on the prairies including fifteen years photographing the Hutterites; insular Anabaptists who live communally on colonies throughout western Canada and the north-western United States. His work is among the broadest and most extensive visual documentations of their culture ever produced and has been published and exhibited throughout the world.
As part of the commemoration of the 500-year-anniversary of Anabaptism, Smith’s work was exhibited in Wittenberg, Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. Portions of Smith’s work from his prairie and Hutterite projects are part of private and public collections including Duke University’s Archive of Documentary Arts collection, the Province of Manitoba’s art collection, the city of Medicine Hat’s art collection and the permanent display at the Múzeum habánov v Sobotišti in Slovakia.
Smith’s love for quiet stories and rural life is told through his intimate access into often reserved communities. In addition to long-term documentary work Smith covers assignments for a variety of editorial clients in the prairies and occasionally further on. His work has garnered several awards including three National Newspaper Awards and a Judges Special Recognition in the Pictures of the Year International (POYI) Community Awareness Award. Smith is a passionate speaker on topics relating to slow journalism, photographing sensitive communities or subjects, mental health in journalism and the heartbreak and joy of being invited into people’s lives. The majority of his work is made close to home on the Canadian prairies.
Exhibitions:
2022 – April. The Hutterites exhibition. Africa Foto Fair – New Beginnings. Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire.
2022 – April. The Hutterites Featured Exhibition. Flash Photographic Festival. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
2022 – April 17 – May 1. The Hutterites. PHOTO IS:RAEL festival. Nahariya, Israel.
2022 – Summer. In The World But Not Of It; The Hutterites solo show. MEWO Kunsthalle. Memmingen, Germany.
2022 – November. The Hutterites exhibition. Head On Photo Festival. Sydney, Australia.
2021 – November – Growing up Hutterite. 9th Annual PHOTO IS:RAEL festival. Tel Aviv, Israel.
2021 – June – August. In the World but not of It. Estevan Art Gallery & Museum. Estevan, Saskatchewan.
2021 – June 3 – 30. The Hutterites. Belfast Photo Festival. Belfast, Northern Ireland.
2020 – November 28, 2020 – March 13, 2021. Luxembourg Art Prize finalists group exhibition. Luxembourg, EU.
2020 – May 11 – June 20. Hutterites of Manitoba solo show. Portage and District Arts Centre. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
2020 – January 10 – February 23. In the World but not of It solo show. Gallery@501. Sherwood Park, Alberta.
2019 – 2020 – Hutterites at Play. United Photo Industries’ The Fence exhibition. Brooklyn, Houston, Seattle, Boston, Sarasota, Atlanta, Denver, Calgary.
2025 – In The World But Not Of It. Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. Tampa. USA.
2025 – Die Hutterer. LutherMuseen. Wittenberg. Germany.
2025 – In The World But Not Of It. PhotoFrome festival. UK.
2025 – The Hutterites exhibition. Bucharest Photofest. Romania.
2025 – In The World But Not Of It. Red Deer Art Gallery. Canada.
2024 – In The World But Not Of It. Museo Museo Dioces Di Cremona. Italy.
2024 – In The World But Not Of It. Malmitalo Gallery. Helsinki, Finland.
2023 – The Hutterites. Fotoforum. Innsbruck, Austria.
2023 – In The World But Not Of It. Freelens Gallery. Hamburg, Germany.
