About Us

The Studio Visit (TSV) is a web journal that is vetted and curated by our team and contributors. We have a dedicated focus on contemporary visual artists with the mission to advocate, collaborate, connect, and educate by supporting the importance of the artist’s place in society through their studio practice and process. TSV’s philosophy supports the idea that promoting the artist from the studio perspective leads to greater understanding and appreciation of the artistic process, the role of the artist, and in turn, the art object. We aim to connect the artist with the general public through our online features using video as a major tool to inspire a larger audience to become curious and excited about why art matters in our world.

Our Timeline

Started in 2008 as blog, TSV quickly evolved into a collaborative effort made up of volunteer artists and writers. TSV introduces professional artists at work in their studios, speaking directly to their work through a dialogue with the writer. This intimate first-person view into the artistic process cultivates familiarity and appreciation of the intellectual and technical processes of art making.

TSV started an Art Critique Series bridging the online community with the physical, further emphasizing our mission of promoting the artist from the ground up — ‑in the studio — through dialogue and discourse with other artists. Please click on the Press link to read an article about this series.

TSV is based in Berlin, Germany where a partnership with the Takt International Artist residency is established.

TSV launched a Berlin Art Fellowship Award. The award supports D.C. area artists from historically disadvantaged backgrounds to become a resident at the Takt Artist Residency for one month over the summer.

TSV relaunches as an independent project with the mission of featuring and archiving written and video interviews with a focus on contemporary artists of color.

Our Artist Educators

MEET THE TEAM

Isabel Manalo

Isabel Manalo has been showing her work internationally since 1999 and her work is included in a number of public and private collections such as the National...

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Cheryl Edwards

I was born in 1954 in Miami Beach, Florida.
My mother, Olivia Love Edwards was a pharmacist, and my father Clarence Leonard Edwards was...

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E. Brady Robinson

I am a photographer based in Baltimore.
My fine art photography is represented by Addison/Ripley Fine Art in Washington, D.C.

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Our Mission

The Studio Visit (TSV) is a web journal that is vetted and curated by our team and contributors. We have a dedicated focus on contemporary visual artists with the mission to advocate, collaborate, connect, and educate by supporting the importance of the artist’s place in society through their studio practice and process. TSV’s philosophy supports the idea that promoting the artist from the studio perspective leads to greater understanding and appreciation of the artistic process, the role of the artist, and in turn, the art object. We aim to connect the artist with the general public through our online features using video as a major tool to inspire a larger audience to become curious and excited about why art matters in our world.

How to be Involved?

Nominate an artist you think TSV should feature
Intern TSV hosts internships for seniors in high school and college students. Our interns have focused on social media, writing and editing, community outreach, video, and photo editing, and web maintenance.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter
Visit our website often and Share our stories!
Please join The Studio Visit on Facebook to keep up with our latest events.

Testimonials

“I looked forward to going to school everyday because of Isabel. She made me realize the significance art holds in my life. As her student, she challenged me to take art seriously and showed countless approaches to creating a piece. I started to create artwork that I was truly proud of because it made me think on a deeper level. The classroom evnironment Isabel provided was icredibly supportive and constructive. Her honesty and compassion for her students is incredibly admirable. Isabel is easily the most intentional and inspiring teacher I have had. I learned many skills from her as an artist, student, and person.”

—Rebecca Meroney, The Edmund Burke School ’21.

“Professor Manalo is an exceptional artist, educator and mentor. I took her Studio Art course at American University as a Freshman in college; it was truly one of my favorite and most memorable classes. Professor Manalo’s is the reason why I continue to pursue art. Her teaching methodology was unique, effective and fun! Her teaching style wasn’t confined in the classroom; she introduced us to other renowned artists, and we spent time in museums/galleries to learn about art at the front row. She taught me to challenge the way I pursue art as well as find my own style. Most of my peers in the class didn’t identify as artists, but it was evident how much they enjoyed the class as well. We found ourselves spending countless hours of our free time at the University studio working on projects for Professor Manalo’s class. She is a source of constant inspiration to her students. It has been 6 years since I first took her class, but Professor Manalo is still a champion for her students no matter how long time has flown by.”

—Bernadette Mead — Class of 2019, American University

“Brady is an outstanding professor and artist. I was blessed to have Brady teach professional practices of art during my first semester of graduate school. This course taught me how to successfully grant write and push relevant content out to promotional outlets. I couldn’t have had a better professor for this: Brady knows how to give you the essentials without the jargon and artspeak. Courses like this should be mandatory in any fine art program, and I admire that Brady was an advocate for this: she genuinely wants her students to succeed. Although I’m a few years out of grad school, Brady continues to be a reliable source of help regarding academic, gallery and curatorial positions. If you have the opportunity to work with Brady or take one of her workshops, do not pass it up. I speak for many of her former students when I say I owe much of my success to her.”

—Sherri Littlefield, Former student

“Isabel’s remarkable energy to go above and beyond meant that she often took her students out of the classroom to museums and galleries, shared insights from her own vibrant art practice, and brought in other working artists to give her students direct experiences with what was new and exciting in the art world For quite a few students these eye-opening opportunities allowed them to imagine themselves as true artists for the first time.”

—Lucinda Leach, Former Chair of the Art Department, The Edmund Burke School. May 2022.

“Isabel Manalo was my Artist Mentor for the two final semesters of my MFA in Visual Art from Lesley University’s low-residency program in Cambridge, MA. Isabel was my local area guide to defining my successful thesis project. She took the time to listen and see what I was attempting to communicate visually and to clear away extraneous visual detail. My initial imagery included a lot of figurative representation. We had already met a few times, but in a single session, she suggested that I simplify and retain the ‘neuro eye’ image which I adopted and repeated on my 16-foot diameter geodesic dome installation. She truly helped me focus on my visual thesis concept and set me off working with a passion. Isabel is a connector, an exceptional mother, a sought-after curator, an art juror, and exhibiting artist with a studio practice and gallery representation. She is a gifted artist and teacher and an excellent human, not to mention her Yale fine art mafia.”

—Cynthia Scott Johnson, Artist, Gallery Owner and Diretor of Gaslight, Frederick, MD. August 2022

“Isabel is a teacher who inspired and encouraged me to pursue art. She made me and countless other students feel comfortable and genuinely cared for, and she takes great effort to understand you and your goals. She was one of the only teachers at Burke who made students feel genuinely comfortable and cared for.”

—Stella Magee

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About Us

Our Timeline

2008

2010

2012-15

2017

2020

Our Artist Educators

Isabel Manalo

Cheryl Edwards

E. Brady Robinson

Our Mission

How to be Involved?

Testimonials

Free Consultation

Contact Us