ISABEL MANALO is a visual artist and educator. Her work is represented by Addison Ripley Fine Art in Washington D.C. Since 2000, she has been teaching as a Professorial Adjunct Lecturer –with a three-year Visiting Assistant Professorship from 2008–2011 at American University’s Department of Art. From 2012 – 2015 she lived in Berlin, Germany where she served as a Visiting Artist and Curator at Takt International Artist Residency while also curating independently at a variety of alternative spaces and making new work for solo shows at the Orlando Museum of Art and the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery at Stony Brook University in New York. As Filipino American she has lived in both Manila, Philippines and Madison, WI. She has also lived in St. Louis, MO, Chicago, Paris, New Haven, CT, and Washington D.C. She is the Founding Director and Managing Editor of TSV. Isabel received an MFA in Painting at Yale University, a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BS from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
CHERYL EDWARDS is an African American artist who was born in Miami Beach, Florida. She began her studies in art during 1988 in New York City in a class at the Art Student League taught by, Ernest Crichlow. She has been living in Washington, DC for the past 22 years. Her artistic practice is social justice, multicultural, organic, and historical. She is a painter and printmaker. Cheryl has exhibited in many shows in Washington, DC, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Miami, Texas, Germany, Rotterdam, and Hong Kong. Her medium is oil, ink, and acrylics. She is currently represented by Wohlfarth Galleries (Washington, DC); and Susanne Junggeburth Gallery (Germany) (www.us-arts.de) Cheryl is a 2015 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Awardee. She was also an Art Cart Fellow in 2016 and her work is archived in Academic Commons at Columbia University. Her work is in the permanent collection of the District of Columbia Art and Humanities Commission Art Bank and the David C. Driskell Center for the Arts at the University of Maryland.
E. BRADY ROBINSON is a photographer based in Baltimore. She divides her time between personal art projects, commissioned work, and teaching photography. Her fine art photography is represented by Addison/Ripley Fine Art in Washington, D.C.
Her photographs have been featured in The Washington Post, BmoreArt, Channel One Russia TV, The Bund Shanghai, Hyperallergic, Slate among others. Robinson leads workshops throughout the United States. Select Art Fairs include Lishui Photo Festival China, Art Miami, AIPAD NYC, and PULSE Art Fair Miami. Collections include American University, The Center for Book Arts NYC, Orlando Museum of Art, and Spanish Cultural Center, Santo Domingo, DR.
Robinson has taught photography at ICP NYC, Georgetown University, and Goucher College. She received her BFA in photography from The Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, and MFA in photography from Cranbrook Art Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
ANNA MARIA MANALO has more than 30 years of teaching experience, working with students ages 5-80. In NYC, she has taught privately as well as at Columbia Preparatory, Harbor Center for the Performing Arts, and Hunter College. For the Aquinas High School in the Bronx, she founded and directed the first strings ensemble, mixed with traditional Philippines instruments. For the Braille Tone Music Society of Canada, she mentored students of all exceptionalities to perform at recitals and conferences. She has also created Studio Seminars for Adults, Summer Strings Camp, and Chamber Music Workshops for youth and adults in the US and abroad.
ALISON LEE SCHROEDER’S artwork and personal identity have been shaped by three countries. Raised in the United States by a Colombian mother and Minnesotan father, she has spent most of her adult life in Mexico, and is a wife to and mother of Mexicans, now living in the D.C. area. In a constant mental and emotional migration between these cultures and identities, her artwork often references the disorienting experience of not being either inside or outside, as well as that of being both inside and outside.
Schroeder studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design and Fine Arts at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (Mexico) where she received a full scholarship from the National Council for Science and Technology.
Her work has been exhibited in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and in other parts of Mexico and the United States, where she has also worked as a curator, gallery director, and commissioner for planning and programming of cultural development.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”