• Visual Arts Teaching Artist: Ryan Hulvat

Ryan Hulvat has been a professional photographer for 18 years. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton, with a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography.

Ryan has been a Banana Factory artist since 2006, seemingly living in the Olympus Digital Imaging Center. During this time, he has continued to push the boundaries of editorial photography, his passion for journaling and teaching students ages 3-80 digital photography. This father of three young artists has taught workshops for children in classrooms, after-school programs, and summer camps, and is an artist-in-residence in the PASELA project. “I want kids to realize that they are artists and that they are complex people. Through an exercise of photographing their hands and having them tell me who they are, they quickly see that they are more than what other people have labeled them . . . in photography you choose what to show and what not to show. It’s about choosing who you are, what you want to be, and how you share it with other people.

I view my subjects the same way that I approach the world - with curiosity, passion and a close attention and appreciation for the details! Photography isn’t only what I do; it has become who I am. I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else."