Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD, is a curator, writer, and editor of Scottish and Ukrainian descent. 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.

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, PREFIX Photo, 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.

Matthew lives in London, Ontario.