BIO | CV
Honi Ryan is an interdisciplinary artist with a nomadic social practice. At the intersection of sociopolitically engaged art, progressive pedagogy and performative expressions of utopia, her work has intercultural concerns and deals with the present body in relationship to others and their environment. Working with long term social-performance projects at the core of her practice, Ryan builds relationships as works of art by creating heightened encounters in everyday life — encounters between people and place — activating deep presence in the mundane.
Ryan was born on the unceded First Nations land of Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. She lives and works between Berlin, Paris and Naarm. Ryan has exhibited and performed in twelve countries across Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia. She has attended residencies internationally with both collaborative and solo projects. Ryan has presented at art and philosophy conferences and taught in universities in Australia, France, Germany, Pakistan, and the United States.
Ryan's undergraduate degree combined visual art with experiential design between the Cologne International School of Design, Germany; and Sydney University, Australia where she graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Art with first-class division 1 honours and was awarded the University Medal in 2008.
She went on to complete a Masters of Fine Art in Creative Practice with the Transart Institute in Berlin and New York in 2015, and was awarded the Transart Achievement Award in 2017. Her masters thesis is titled "Gestures of Intent: Performance art enacting peace through presence and participation."
Ryan's research interests focus on art's role in peace mediation, creativity and the everyday, unlearning and the artistic residency.