Meet Hannah Hyatt | Digital Media Artist | Actor | Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Hyatt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from a little-known city in the Inland Empire, what we call the IE. Riverside is the sleepy desert gem at its heart, though it’s not so sleepy anymore—if it ever really was. To a passerby traveling to Palm Springs, where the 91 meets the 215, it might seem that way. But underneath it all, beneath that overpass, Riverside is full of life, with complicated and resilient people. People come and go, and some stay. Some leave and come back. Those who stay have cultivated a culture of creativity that draws on the land, the dust, the hot sun, and the unique sights and sounds of the IE.
Everyone says their hometown was a fever dream, but Riverside really was. There’s a lot of vulnerable and ballsy storytelling happening there. The people are kind, collaborative, and humble. My city and the community I grew up in continue to shape me as an artist. Lately, I’ve been searching for my own sense of home. I feel uprooted, wandering—not necessarily wanting to settle down, but craving a sense of safety and steadiness. That tension reflects in much of my current work. Going home is always sweet.
I grew up in the downtown public library in Riverside, where my mom was a reference librarian. I’d wander the aisles while she worked, brushing my fingertips against musty pages, sitting cross-legged and hidden among rows of books, daydreaming and devouring whatever I could find. My mom would read to us until her voice was hoarse at night, and she’d plan lessons for us after school, teaching us history, science, art, and literature—the things public schools left out. I love her for that.
My dad is a copy editor, a sci-fi lover, and a lover of animals. When I was a kid, he’d take us to bookstores, and we’d ask to see his name inside the books he’d worked on. We even made and published a book together when I was six. I love him for that. My sibling, Morgan, is also a very talented artist from Riverside. They’ve taught me that you can make art out of anything—any story, any supplies, any medium, whatever you have around you. I love them for that.
We grew up around stories. Books were safe, comforting, a place to escape to when things were rough. Then it was movies, TV shows I fell in love with, my camera that I could hide behind, acting, writing, music, and research.
When I wasn’t at the library, I was outside. Being outside was endlessly entertaining. Most other places feel overstimulating to me, but nature is always calming. A bicycle was my transportation of choice, and I’d ride all over until it got late and my mom called me home. I spent a lot of time climbing Mt. Rubidoux, exploring the trails behind UCR, and wandering through the botanic gardens. I spent a lot of time at our local climbing gym as a kid. I was very independent, and my parents trusted me a lot. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how being in nature feels like a necessity, not an option. I’ve been camping a lot this past year in my Prius and recently went on my first solo camping trip. I’m really trying to regain that childhood independence and fearless spirit I once had.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is often in conversation with others—people I struggle to understand, artists I admire, and those closest to me. It’s a way to show how I see them and to explore where and who I came from. I always aim for my projects to create opportunities for others. As a digital media artist, producer, actor, and poet, I delve into themes of personal and collective identity, exploring how we see ourselves and how others perceive us.
A friend and artist I admire, Raymond Avila, once said, “capture everything,” and ever since, I’ve been trying to do just that. I capture the people and places at my fingertips—my roommates, family, and friends. I enjoy transforming old things, found objects, stories, and letters into something new. Nature is a recurring motif in my work, and I aim to capture moments that feel both intimate and universal.
I love collaborating with musicians and dancers and enjoy being in front of the camera. My use of mixed media, vibrant colors, and various textures is intended to make my work feel tangible, like you can reach out and touch it.
I’m really proud of my portfolio. Initially, it was a professional website, but now it’s a place to share all my work. Seeing my body of work in one place has taught me a lot about who I am and what visually captures my eye. I like to connect the past and the present; it’s how I make sense of the world. Sometimes I struggle with words, but I know my friends and family see themselves in my work. I want to use my skills to support my artist friends.
The biggest challenges have been learning to advocate for myself, struggling to support myself as an artist, and finding a community for my art. I wouldn’t be here without kind people passing my name along, looking at my work, and giving me feedback. Friends, professors, strangers, and my parents have all believed in me, even during tough times.
I am particularly proud of my work as an Audio Visual Designer in collaboration with Dr. Begona Echevarria and Dr. Annika Speer from the University of California Riverside for the docu-theatre play “Picasso Presents Guernica,” which we performed at the United Nations. I love projects involving heavy research and archival materials. I learned about the Basque community in Spain during WWII and their connection to Picasso’s Guernica painting.
I’m also proud of the “Baby Boy” music video I did for Ana Leon and Victor Beber of Future Problems. I’m very excited about my next project. I recently discovered that my grandmother was a writer and acquired eight boxes of her documents, including letters, poetry, school notes, and essays. She wrote in five different languages and never completed high school, but she was brilliant. She left home as a refugee around the age of 15. I plan to translate and publish a collection of her writings and respond to individual pieces in the book.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Breakfast and chat at Sightglass in Hollywood, for certain. Jalapeno cheddar bagels and Macchiatos all the way baby. Thrifting at the 1$ sale in front of Jetrag. Wear gloves, your hands will get sticky but you might find some gems. Snacks and a picnic down at the bottom of Griffith. Cocktails at Formosa, walk across the street for the late night menu at Jones. A drive down PCH to Malibu for a swim and then into Topanga for a hike and dinner at Inn of the 7th Rey. Happy hour at Bar Flores in Echo Park. The North Figeroua Bookstore in Highland Park. A hike up Debbs hill at sunset and then a stroll aroud lake that’s up there. A museum day in Pasadena.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Dedicating this shoutout to my sibling Morgan @magpiemohr, a very talented printmaker and artist, and a lover of plants and chickens. Morgan can make a craft out of anything—they were always the kid with a bajillion rocks, shells, and leaves lining their never-big-enough pockets. I might be their biggest fan.

Website: https://hannahmariahyatt.myportfolio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahmariahyatt/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-hyatt-138012ba

Image Credits
I took all of these photos.