Hi, my name is Ryan and I draw people reveling in the joys of everyday rituals and journeys.
I make illustrations for equity-focused projects that seek to enhance people’s ability to live and navigate the world with authenticity, dignity and safety.
I also create personal work that celebrates LGBTQ+ community spaces and gatherings, using drawing as a way to expand the visual record of historically marginalized and hidden legacies. And every once-in-a-while, I collaborate with theater and dance friends by making posters and motion graphics for their shows.
When I'm not making pictures, you're most likely to find me learning new choreography for aging millennials at my local dance studio in Brooklyn, NY. If I'm not there, you can find me at r.hartley.smith@gmail.com.
Honors
Gold Medal, Society of Illustrators | Norman Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies Fellowship | BRIC Media Arts Fellowship | Groundswell Community Mural Project Fellowship
Selected ClientsAmeriCorps 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
SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology MFA Illustration program