We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristan Ryan and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kristan, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I’m an American citizen but I’m what American psychologists call a 3rd Culture Kid, meaning I grew up in three different countries. My family moved to Germany when I was 3 months old, where I first went to German schools, and at the age of 4 moved to Casablanca, Morocco, and then to the USA at the age of eleven. I spoke multiple languages which helped make me who I am today and was influenced by the artists I saw on the streets and in my neighborhoods of the countries I lived in. Unlike most of the American children I went to school with when I first arrived to live in the USA, I was aware of and influenced by the different cultures I had grown up in. When first arriving in America during the time when many Americans were fighting for the rights of all people, I was beaten up often by American children who didn’t appreciate my ability to speak other languages nor how I interacted in a positive way with different races but I had grown up with multiple races and appreciated them. As a result, I was unhappy which was the beginning of expressing my feelings though my art and making my art public and my ability much later to leave the USA and work in other countries. As I grew older, I began to fight for human rights and particularly the rights of women. Thus, as an adult artist I developed my project call “Angry Females Done Swallowing Our Words,” and later several other projects representing those suffering, male and female, of all ages, though my artwork.
What should our readers know about your business?
I often sell my work in public in downtown Athens, Georgia, in front of the local courthouse where many women are going to court for child support and other reasons. I’ve been accepted by galleries and shows up and down America’s east coast such as New York City and Miami by people who accept and want to support my now famous series “Angry Females Done Swallowing Our Words”. I only paint those who are willing to tell me their stories. I have been interviewed multiple times by local Athens, Georgia, media who support my major project as do many women and men from all over the world. The main lesson I have learned is to not be afraid to shout out for humanity through my artwork.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would drive my best artist friend to Macon, Georgia, to visit the contemporary art shows there, eat lunch with my Macon, Georgia, artist friends, then back to Athen’s, Georgia, to attend a country western show in downtown Athens with the contemporary Kaitlin Butts band (an upcoming country western star), then the next day go to the Jittery Joe’s on S. Barnett Shoals Rd. in Athens for coffee where they often sell my art and see whose art they are showing there now. We will also visit the art galleries here in Athens area that show contemporary art such as OCONEE Cultural Arts Foundation in nearby Watkinsville, ATHICA Athens Art Institute and tiny ATH gallery, both in Athens, Georgia. Later we will spend a few days in my ArtGarage painting a 70″ x 60″ painting together, discuss how our lives have changed, what we demand our art screams out to the world, and work towards having art shows together in major cities such as New York City, Miami, Washington, DC, Austin, Texas, and throughout the USA.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My two powerful, creative, and supportive Macon, Georgia, artist friends Shemika Bussey otherwise known as Euphoria ArtBlock, and Rhonda Sunshine Miller who is a fantastic self-taught artist as is Shemika who have stood by me and my art since I first moved to the State of Georgia from China four years ago. They deserve credit and recognition. Also, I have to give credit to Dr. Robert Ahrens for assisting me with living expenses so I could continue to create art for the suffering and work towards selling it, and Macon, Georgia’s David Dickey for pitching my art to galleries and stores because he believes in it.
Instagram: kristan_lee_ryan
Facebook: https://facebook.com/kristan1
Image Credits
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi