Mickey Smith grew up checking out books from a Carnegie Library in her hometown of Duluth, Minnesota. As with many of the 1,700 Carnegie libraries built throughout the US, the book collection eventually outgrew the space, but the Carnegie building was saved and repurposed. Smith and friends continued to visit the building as teenagers, where a public clinic housed in the basement of the former library gave away free contraceptives. The unlikely repurpose of this childhood institution stuck with her - in later years she began to recognize Carnegie libraries turned art centers, shopping boutiques and private residences.
Upon moving to New Zealand in 2012, Smith was surprised to find 23 Carnegie libraries had been erected throughout the South Pacific. Over the course of three years, she documented the 16 remaining buildings in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. The result of this work appears in her publication, As You Will: Carnegie Libraries of the South Pacific.
As a conceptual artist and photographer, Mickey’s practice has been engaged with a longstanding inquiry into libraries, books and archives and in particular the social significance of their physical existence or disappearance. She has received awards from Americans for the Arts, Creative New Zealand, CEC ArtsLink and McKnight Foundation.
Mickey, her son Max and their pretty little dog Uma live in Auckland, New Zealand. She is represented by Sanderson Contemporary in Auckland, New Zealand.