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Maggie O’Neill is a Washington, D.C.-based artist, designer, entrepreneur and activist with 20+ years of experience supporting the city’s creative community through her multifaceted work.
Her integral role as one of the District’s cultural leaders at the intersection of arts and hospitality is a culmination of her creative design firm SWATCHROOM’s robust portfolio of restaurants and commercial spaces and her community-focused projects including pop-ups, murals and other spaces designed to be inclusive and spark open dialogue.
With 55+ commercial spaces in the District, a complete reimagining of the iconic Willard Hotel and countless other creative projects both locally and internationally, she is uniquely positioned to continue pushing the envelope of the impact design can have on meaningful change and artistic freedom in the nation’s capital.
When she’s not moving the needle on D.C. design, she is creating works of art and developing products and merchandise tied to a myriad of creative projects both nationally and overseas. Her passion for activism has been a consistent thread in her work, now bigger and bolder than ever with her latest project: Vote for Your Daughter, a public art exhibit and campaign.
Vote for Your Daughter (VFYD) is designed to inspire action and defend the rights of American women and girls by using art as a vehicle to educate American voters and bring awareness to issues that directly affect those women and girls. VFYD is fundraising to create 51 statues of young girls with a life-sized fiberglass figure to use as a base statue, made by 51 selected artists.
Maggie's work has been featured on embassy walls around the world, notable hotels such as Sofitel, Four Seasons and Rosewood, and some of D.C.’s most iconic restaurants. Maggie has had several retail locations in the DMV area including her pop-up at The Wharf which was named a must-see attraction in the District by Conde Nast.
In 2012, Maggie had the honor of personally delivering a portrait to President Obama, and in 2014 her "DC Uncle Sam" was featured on the front page of The New York Times. As an artist, Maggie has been honored and awarded for her creative and impactful artistic eye and passion for her hometown. She was the 2018 Official Artist of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and she created an immersive pop-up art activation featuring cherry blossoms made from hundreds of D.C. parking tickets.
O’Neill cannot be contained to the canvas, with several public art projects completed in the D.C. area. Two of her most notable local murals are “The Women Who Will,” a 50 x 50 work of art on Pennsylvania Avenue commissioned by Tishman Speyer and Lyft to celebrate Women’s History Month, and “Together,” a collaboration with artists Lisa Marie Thalhammer and Nia Keturah Calhoun inspired by their collaborative work during the 2017 Women’s March. Assistance provided by Ashley Jaye Williams, Zey Uruc, Diane Decosta, Wendy Sittner Mundy Spears, Mercedes, & Julianne Brienza. "Together" was installed in the Fall of 2021 with support by Shaw Main Streets & Artbox DC and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Public Art Building Communities grant program.
"I believe color is the answer. I believe art creates the most unlikely and profound connection between people all over the world.
I was put on this planet to create art, create spaces, and create connection and conversation through my work."
To learn more watch my TEDx Talk "What if color is the answer?"
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