About
ARTIST / DESIGNER / REVOLUTIONARY
Samantha Smyser- De Leon is a Puerto Rican visual artist and designer from Humboldt Park, Chicago. She holds a BA in Fine Art from Columbia College Chicago, with a minor in Arts Business. After working as a Color Designer for Nike on the Women’s Global Footwear team, Samantha now runs her own Art & Design studio overseeing the execution of multi-disciplinary creative projects across the country. These projects range from custom sculptural installations to graphic design and art direction for brands - with a focus on custom activations for special events, concerts, and video production.
In tandem with her design work, Samantha co-hosts Sistematic Podcast with her twin sister - the show about politics and pop culture with an emphasis on the stories of women at the intersection of race, gender, class, and ability.
Samantha is a professional stunt woman and member of SAG-AFTRA, as well as a community organizer/activist whose work revolves around issues including reproductive rights, affordable housing, and self-determination for Puerto Rico.
In June of 2023 Samantha’s first Nike sneaker color-design execution hit the global market. Simultaneously, Samantha is the creative director of activations for a national tour “Sorry Papi”; a series of 40+ events exclusively for women, featuring all women artists, created by an all women team.