Hi, my name is Ryan. I am a visual artist and illustrator based in New York City.
My work celebrates everyday rituals and legacies within the LGBTQ+ community. Dance as a source of liberation is a reoccurring theme, and when I'm not drawing you can find me learning music video choreography from the late 90’s in a dance class for geriatric millennials.
As an illustrator, I seek out projects that embrace pluralistic notions of community, and advocacy campaigns aimed at enhancing all people’s ability to navigate the world with authenticity, dignity and safety.
Get in touch! r.hartley.smith@gmail.com.
Honors
Society of Illustrators Gold and Silver Medals | Norman Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies Fellowship | BRIC Media Arts Fellowship | Groundswell Community Mural Project Fellowship
Teaching
Associate Professor, SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology, MFA Illustration
AmeriCorps Public Allies, APICS Magazine, Borscht Film Festival, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, BuzzFeed, Center for Urban Pedagogy, The Delaware Art Museum, EMPAC Arts, I'm From Driftwood LGBT Archives, Hermes of Paris, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Juilliard Music and Technology Center, National YoungArts Foundation, NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs, NYC Dept of Transportation Art Program, NYC Independent Budget Office, Sid Lee Creative Agency, The Southern Poverty Law Center, UpWorthy, The Washington Post