Emma McKay Ryan, Nice Art Grant Winner

This year, we offered our first annual Nice Art Grant, a no-strings-attached $500 stipend to go toward selected artists’ creative practices. With over 300 applicants, it was difficult to narrow it down to only two artists; one artist who really stuck with us during the process was Emma McKay Ryan. Her images mimic a bathroom counter after an evening getting ready, with exquisite use of negative space. With a clear talent in traditional media paired with conversations of social media and beauty expectations, Ryan’s work speaks to young adult expectations. She said of her work:

Through mixed media drawings, I expose the absurdity of the beauty industry propelled by social media by exaggerating the images we are exposed to every day. I juxtapose digital elements of social media against drawn marks that masquerade as beauty products. By mixing figuration and abstraction and calling on feminist theorists, I highlight the internal conflict that arises from the critical self-evaluation that I, and many other young women, have grown accustomed to with the use of the internet and social media.

I grew up in rural Nebraska but am currently teaching and pursuing my MFA in Studio Arts at the University of Notre Dame. I will graduate this May and plan to move to the Detroit Metropolitan Area thereafter. I am extremely grateful to have received the Midwest Nice Art Grant, as it will provide crucial support for purchasing art materials and setting up my studio after graduation.

Congrats, Emma!