Ryan Blocker

Ryan Blocker is a musician, artist, writer, and arts administrator interested in how the arts can facilitate a more just world. He received his bachelor's degree in music performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He is also a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago Master’s of Arts Administration and Policy (MAAAP) program. His collaborative master’s thesis “Racing Culture: Exploring Race, Inclusion, and Equity in the Arts” won the 2016 MAAAP department  fellowship.

He has worked as the communications manager for the Homan Square Story Share Project, an oral history/arts activation project on Chicago’s West Side. Ryan also co-organized SAIC’s Reframing Visibility Symposium, programming at SAIC aimed to investigate questions of diversity and representation in the art world featuring  guest speaker, Dr. Henry Louis Gates. Ryan has published numerous articles on politics, race, and art and has been recognized by the Illinois College Press Association. Most recently, he worked for the Chicago Humanities Festival as a research fellow where he  focused on building more racially diverse audiences and finding alternative programming strategies. Ryan is currently the program coordinator for Enrich Chicago, an alliance of arts organizations tackling racial equity.