Matthew Ryan Smith
Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD, is a curator, writer, and editor. He is the Curator & Head of Collections of Glenhyrst Art Gallery, the literary editor of First American Art Magazine, and an editorial board member for the Yearbook of Moving Image Studies. He grew up in Scarborough and Pickering, Ontario, Canada.
Matthew holds a BFA in Visual Art from York University (2007), an MA in Art History from the University of Toronto (2008), and a PhD from Western University (2012). His doctoral thesis, “Relational Viewing: Art, Trauma, and the Viewer,” focuses on the ethics of spectatorship in contemporary art.
Matthew has taught courses and seminars on art history, design theory, and film studies at the University of Toronto, Western University, OCAD University, and the Haliburton School of Art.
His academic research focuses on a breadth of subjects, from the aesthetics of indentureship and street art to autobiographical culture and Wabanki canoes. It is published in several academic journals and books including Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, Journal of Curatorial Studies, The Senses and Society, Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, Canadian Journal of Native Studies, Canadian Film Journal, and others.
Matthew has also published critical essays, exhibition reviews, and interviews in publications including Canadian Art, Border Crossings, C Magazine, Esse, and BlackFlash.
Matthew served as editor of Eli Baxter’s book Aki-wayn-zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth, detailing the author’s Anishinaabay culture and residential school experience, which was awarded the Governor General’s Award for English-language nonfiction in 2022.
www.matthewryansmith.com
Supervisors: Dr. Sarah Bassnett
Matthew holds a BFA in Visual Art from York University (2007), an MA in Art History from the University of Toronto (2008), and a PhD from Western University (2012). His doctoral thesis, “Relational Viewing: Art, Trauma, and the Viewer,” focuses on the ethics of spectatorship in contemporary art.
Matthew has taught courses and seminars on art history, design theory, and film studies at the University of Toronto, Western University, OCAD University, and the Haliburton School of Art.
His academic research focuses on a breadth of subjects, from the aesthetics of indentureship and street art to autobiographical culture and Wabanki canoes. It is published in several academic journals and books including Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly, Journal of Curatorial Studies, The Senses and Society, Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, Canadian Journal of Native Studies, Canadian Film Journal, and others.
Matthew has also published critical essays, exhibition reviews, and interviews in publications including Canadian Art, Border Crossings, C Magazine, Esse, and BlackFlash.
Matthew served as editor of Eli Baxter’s book Aki-wayn-zih: A Person as Worthy as the Earth, detailing the author’s Anishinaabay culture and residential school experience, which was awarded the Governor General’s Award for English-language nonfiction in 2022.
www.matthewryansmith.com
Supervisors: Dr. Sarah Bassnett
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Edited Books by Matthew Ryan Smith
Aki-wayn-zih is a story about the land and its spiritual relationship with the Anishinaabayg, from the beginning of their life on Miss-koh-tay-sih Minis (Turtle Island) to the present day. Baxter writes about Anishinaabay life before European contact, his childhood memories of trapping, hunting, and fishing with his family on traditional lands in Treaty 9 territory, and his personal experience surviving the residential school system. Examining how Anishinaabay Kih-kayn-daa-soh-win (knowledge) is an elemental concept embedded in the Anishinaabay language, Aki-wayn-zih explores history, science, math, education, philosophy, law, and spiritual teachings, outlining the cultural significance of language to Anishinaabay identity. Recounting traditional Ojibway legends in their original language, fables in which moral virtues double as survival techniques, and detailed guidelines for expertly trapping or ensnaring animals, Baxter reveals how the residential school system shaped him as an individual, transformed his family, and forever disrupted his reserve community and those like it. Through spiritual teachings, historical accounts, and autobiographical anecdotes, Aki-wayn-zih offers a new form of storytelling from the Anishinaabay point of view.
Edited Exhibition Catalogues by Matthew Ryan Smith
Book Chapters by Matthew Ryan Smith
Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals by Matthew Ryan Smith
This article was originally published in issue 36.3 (2019) of Blackflash Magazine.
Aki-wayn-zih is a story about the land and its spiritual relationship with the Anishinaabayg, from the beginning of their life on Miss-koh-tay-sih Minis (Turtle Island) to the present day. Baxter writes about Anishinaabay life before European contact, his childhood memories of trapping, hunting, and fishing with his family on traditional lands in Treaty 9 territory, and his personal experience surviving the residential school system. Examining how Anishinaabay Kih-kayn-daa-soh-win (knowledge) is an elemental concept embedded in the Anishinaabay language, Aki-wayn-zih explores history, science, math, education, philosophy, law, and spiritual teachings, outlining the cultural significance of language to Anishinaabay identity. Recounting traditional Ojibway legends in their original language, fables in which moral virtues double as survival techniques, and detailed guidelines for expertly trapping or ensnaring animals, Baxter reveals how the residential school system shaped him as an individual, transformed his family, and forever disrupted his reserve community and those like it. Through spiritual teachings, historical accounts, and autobiographical anecdotes, Aki-wayn-zih offers a new form of storytelling from the Anishinaabay point of view.
This article was originally published in issue 36.3 (2019) of Blackflash Magazine.
As a methodology, I intend to scrutinize individual facets of the Mural and to construct my argument within the logical framework of descriptive headings. It is not my aim to fully dismiss or impugn Dr. Ferzoco’s findings but merely to challenge his convictions and engage, or commence, a sustainable dialogue of critical debate to which others may enrol as they wish.
Jacobs is recognised for applying historical Haudenosaunee teachings to his commercial work, pendant jewellery, prints, paintings, and sculpture. He remains committed to empowering Indigenous youth through visual art and sharing Six Nations cultural practices with the world. From 2001 to 2008, his award-winning “flying eagle” design was embossed on Air Canada’s Boeing 767 jet, and in 2019 he was awarded the Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Arts Award. Jacobs’s work resides in private and public art collections in Canada and the United States including the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), Iroquois Museum (Howes Cave, NY), Canadian Museum of History (Hull, QC), and Woodland Cultural Centre (Brantford, ON).