Confessions Of A Smart Polymath
The summer of 2025 brought an exciting invitation: I was chosen as the featured artist for the SRI Sustainability Research & Innovation International Congress in Chicago, the world’s largest gathering dedicated to bold, informed, and inclusive sustainability solutions.
Earlier that year, I unveiled a new abstract art series, Smart City Art, designed to celebrate breakthroughs in smart-city technology and spur greater action for sustainability.
SRI 2025. My Smart City Art series on display.
SRI 2025 Chicago, Illinois. View from hotel.
I LOVE NATURE—its fresh air, clean water, healing trees, and abundant wildlife, but my concerns for the health of our planet grew as I watched influential political leaders and powerful news outlets—loudly and repeatedly—claim that climate change was a complete hoax.
Anger and frustration finally pushed me to create this art series after I kept hearing everyday citizens echoing the idea that there were absolutely no climate concerns because the scientists had gotten it all wrong, and the fake news media and liberal people were lying to them about it.
I try to hit negativity with positivity, and that is how the Smart City Art series came to life.
Smart City Art video by Dorothea Sandra Art about smart city technology and sustainability.
My first paintings were simple abstracts. My initial goal was to capture happy movements within modern city life.
Old City Bravely Transitioning To Smat City, 36”x36”
Here’s the painting’s description:
In this vibrant acrylic painting, I immersed myself in the transformative energy of a city evolving into a smarter, more dynamic space. Using abstract and expressionist styles, I captured the chaos and excitement of urban renewal. My brushstrokes intertwine old architectural forms with new digital symbols, suggesting a seamless blend of tradition and innovation. This piece aims to evoke hope and the pulsing rhythm of progress.
I continued painting in this series and was inspired to create a video titled Happy Green Cities Of The Future. The painting was sold to a collector in the United Kingdom.
Video featuring painting titled Green Cities of the Future by Dorothea Sandra, artist and author.
To spark deeper awareness of climate change and its solutions, I began weaving smart city technology and sustainability symbols directly into each painting, infusing every piece with purposeful meaning.
A closer look reveals a tapestry of symbols: recycling, governance, digital networks, binary codes, and beyond. These paintings found new homes as treasured gifts for leading sustainability scientists.
One of my favorite paintings, PRETTY CITY ART, made it all the way to Shanghai, China in 2026. It was the featured image during my three-month stay at the beautiful Swatch Art Peace Hotel.
Dorothea Sandra in 2026 at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel artist residency in amazing Shanghai, China.
Pretty City Art, 24”x36”. Click here for details.
Ever since this series came to life, its paintings have caught the eye of curators worldwide, earning spots in their curations across the globe. From present to past, here are the locations: Issy-les-Moulineaux, France; Berlin, Germany; Paris, France (multiple times); Madrid, Spain; London, United Kingdom; Barcelona, Spain (multiple times); Stockholm, Sweden; Munich, Germany; Nantes, France; and Atlanta, USA.
Beyond weaving science into my art, I chose each painting’s title to spark thought and to champion the promise of smart-city technology and a sustainable future.
SMART CITY WORKING
SMART CITY EQUALITY
SMART AND SUSTAINABLE
SMART CITY LOVE,
15-MINUTE WALKABILITY
THE START OF SMART AND SUSTAINABLE
SMART CITY EARLY BEGINNINGS.
Here are some other paintings in the series. Click here to view this series in more detail.
