RAiR Announces Ryan Crowley (RAiR 2023-24) as New Residency Director

The Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation is excited to welcome Ryan Crowley (RAiR 2023-2024) as the new Residency Director. He will start his three-year term (with an option to renew) on November 3.

Ryan is a sculptor who works in a range of materials, as those who saw his joint exhibition with Tristram Lansdowne at AMoCA in 2024, “Wicked Wells and Window Wipeouts,” will remember. He has over a decade of experience in casting, woodworking, ceramics, metal, and glassblowing, as well as art handling and picture framing; while his other professional background includes many years of experience as the sculpture shop manager at Virginia Commonwealth University and Rice University as well as adjunct teaching at UT Austin and VCU.  This extensive skill set equips him well for a position that calls for someone to support the RAiR resident artists in whatever way they need. Ryan is committed to providing a relaxed, safe and supportive environment for them and their families, with the time and the tools to make the most out of their studio work, while also helping foster connections between creativity and community.

“The position holds many attractions for me,” he says. “After moving from Pittsburgh to Roswell in 2023 to attend the RAiR program, I’m thrilled to have made my home here in New Mexico. While considering the specific demands and responsibilities of the director position and reflecting upon my wide-ranging and serpentine path of experience in the arts, I feel uniquely qualified and open for the challenges of this directorship. The opportunity to be in a position where one makes art while supporting fellow-artists is a special role. I am excited by the prospect of a life that is enriched by ways of both work and the creative environment that cradles it.”

Ryan received a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston and an MFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He was a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center in 2022; other past residencies include the Haystack Open Studio Residency in Maine; the Lawndale Artist Residency Program in Houston, TX; and Bunker Projects AIR in Pittsburgh, PA. He also received a Professional Fellowship Grant from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Solo exhibitions include Sawyer Mills Gallery in Houston; Wayfarers Gallery in Brooklyn, NY; and the Anderson Gallery in Richmond, VA. His work has also been featured in group shows around the country.

The RAiR residency looks forward to entering this next chapter under Ryan’s leadership and invites the community to join in welcoming him.