Maria Maneos
Maria Maneos lives and works in North Wales, Pa (Montgomery Township) - a suburb of the Philadelphia area. Maria earned her Bachelor's of Fine Art Degree from Arcadia University located in Glenside, Pa and accomplished her Masters of Fine Art from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts located in Philadelphia, PA. Her work has been shown extensively in the Philadelphia area in such galleries as Artists' House in Old City and recently showing in many New York galleries. She is currently working with the incarcerated population at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville, PA. Where inmates work together with Maria in her program titled Brush With the Law on different lesson plans that involve the visual arts using philosophy, Greek mythology, art therapy, fine art lessons, etc. They also occasionally paint murals inside the facility with the warden's approval on the space. This work stems from dealing with her son's very hard drug addiction to heroin and his eventual placement in this facility. This is where she discovered first hand that no rehabilitation was in place for inmates at the county level in terms of education and introspection - only idle time doing nothing.
"It is a great gift when your child actually leads you to discover the purpose of your life, no matter how heartbreaking the road to it may be." Maria Maneos
Awarded Grants
2014
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Related grantees
Overview
Maria’s Brush with the Law is a visual arts program, conducted within the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, that will inspire introspection, provide a positive outlet for self-expression, reduce recidivism, and help offenders confidently re-enter and reconnect with their communities. This program will encourage students to use the visual arts as a catalyst for positive transition, and help society understand the need for rehabilitation in the prison system for peaceful coexistence and reentry. At the end of the program, there will be two free and open-to-the-public exhibits of selected works from each student, which will solidify their own recognition as creative beings and also allow their voices to be heard.
