Faculty
Founders:
Bea Kreloff (1925-2016) Art Workshop International founder was a painter, teacher, and former head of the art department, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, Bronx, New York. She taught painting workshops, seminars, and lectured on art at Cooper Union, Marymount Manhattan College, Women's Caucus for Art, The New School University, The College Art Association, and numerous art groups. Her work is exhibited nationally and internationally and is in a number of private collections. She had been a director of Art Workshop International for 31 years.
Edith Isaac-Rose (1929-2018) co-founder of Art Workshop International; painter, teacher, and graduate of the Chicago Art Institute, B.A.E. She’s represented by Phyllis Kind Gallery in New York. Isaac-Rose has been a Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome, 2003; and Vermont Studio Center Fellow, 2005. She’s exhibited in the U.S. at the Phyllis Kind Gallery and abroad, recently in China; taught at Ohio State, Columbia, Princeton Art Association, and in her studio. In addition, she has lectured and critiqued in various schools in the Northeast and conducted art workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Her work is in the Hirshhorn Museum and other important collections.
Directors:
Charies Kreloff Art Workshop International director, has run his own design studio for over 20 years. A publications and book art director, his clients include Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Random House, Viking Penguin, Scholastic, and Conde Nast. Kreloff has taught graphic design and typography at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He is also the co-author of the books Is Your Dog Gay?, Is Your Cat Gay?, and Pills for Cats. He is currently working on a screenplay.
Lynn Gernert Art Workshop International director, is the principal of Lynn Gernert Architects. For over 20 years, she has designed and overseen construction of projects ranging from highly detailed private commercial and residential projects to large-scale affordable housing and community centers. Prior to establishing her own firm, she was Senior Architect at the Pratt Center for Community Development in New York City. Gernert is an Adjunct Professor at NYC College of Technology, CUNY, where she teaches architectural design and building science.
Instructors:
Bobby Abate is a multimedia artist from Brooklyn, New York. Screenings and exhibitions include The New York Film Festival, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Guggenheim in Bilbao, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, San Francisco Cinematheque, and the ICA in London and Palm Beach. Film Comment Magazine named Bobby one of the top 25 emerging filmmakers for the 21st century. He was the 2020 recipient of the Princess Grace Artist Development Grant. In 2021, Bobby released the Outsider Tarot and guidebook, a 10 year project in which he researched, redesigned and reinterpreted each of the 78 cards of the classic Tarot in a modern and inclusive context. Bobby has presented the Outsider Tarot at the Whitney Museum of American Art and PARTICIPANT, INC in New York City. This work is also included among the tarot offerings at Artbook @: MoMA PS1 in Queens, New York.
SuzAnne Barabas has been the artistic director of the Award-Winning, New Jersey Repertory Company, for over 25 years—a professional, non-profit regional theater whose mission is to develop and produce new plays, and to make a lasting contribution to the American Stage.
The New York Times said of NJ Rep, "The New Jersey Repertory Company is a godsend to audiences and, especially, playwrights—a skillful, professional ensemble dedicated solely to performing new works."
At NJ Rep, Ms. Barabas has produced more than 150 plays of which 125 have been world premieres. In addition, she has presented over 400 developmental readings, as well as introduced 136 new works through its Theatre Brut Short-Play Festivals that focus on visionary and avant-garde works. Ms. Barabas' responsibility is to help select these plays, out of the hundreds that are submitted. Those that are selected often go through the process of table readings or readings in front of an audience to aid the playwright in the further development of the play.
NJ Rep is also a member of NNPN (National New Play Network), where like-minded theaters share plays and champion their playwrights. For NJ Rep, Ms. Barabas has directed more than 30 plays, some of which she co-authored.
In addition, Ms. Barabas directed productions of The Housewives of Mannheim at 59E59 Theater (NYC), Ensemble Theater of Santa Barbara (CA), and Phoenix Theater (Indianapolis). She directed regional productions of Ibsen's A Doll's House, The Fantasticks, The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd, Cabaret, Shaw's Heartbreak House, A.R. Gurney's The Perfect Party, Marsha Norman's 'Night Mother, Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story, Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy, Mark Dunn's Belles, James Hindman’s What Doesn’t Kill You, Lee Blessing's Down the Road among others. She is a member of Actors Equity Association, BMI, the Dramatists Guild, SDC, and LPTW.
Maria Adelaide Basile Born in Rome, Italy, Maria Adelaide Basile received her Master in Contemporary Italian Literature from the University of Rome La Sapienza and her Ph.D in Medieval Italian Literature from Rutgers University in United States. She taught Italian language and literature at Rutgers University, at the College of Charleston and at John Cabot University in Rome. She read her papers at several conferences, and has published several essays on Dante, Nievo, Manzoni, and the filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo. In addition, Dr Basile has worked as theater critic for several newspapers, and translated and introduced the poems of the French poet Alain Bosquet and the American poet Anne Carson. Her main areas of interest are the Middle Ages, Italian Theater, and Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Italian literature. She is also a published poet. Dr Basile’s publications include an essay on the Italian writer Piero Sanavio Caterina Cornaro o del potere, published by Il Mulino and a collection of poems, Viaggi (Travels), Campanotto, November 2014.
Brenda Bowen is the award-winning author of over fifty picture books and chapter books for young readers, which she writes under the penname Margaret McNamara. She is also the author of one adult novel, Enchanted August (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking). She had a long career in children’s publishing, where she was editorial director at Scholastic Press and Henry Holt & Company, and vice president, associate publisher at Simon & Schuster and Disney Publishing Worldwide. Books edited and represented by Brenda have won the Newbery Medal, Newbery Honors, arethe National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Award, and many other honors. Brenda now works as an agent at The Book Group, where she represents a full complement of clients, from storied industry veterans to sparkling debuts.
Caterina Bertolotto graduated from the University of Turin, Italy. She received 9 certificates in different language teaching methodologies both in Italy and in New York, and received a Distinguished University Teaching Award from the New School University, and a Mellon Grant from Pratt Institute. Caterina is a published author of 4 books, and has taught 7 Seminars to teachers of Languages. She has taught Italian at The New School where she was also the Italian Program Coordinator and trainer for 20 years. She taught undergraduates at Sarah Lawrence College, Montclair State University, Pratt Institute, Eugene Lang and Baruch College. She has developed a very effective and enjoyable method for learning Italian and with a colleague has made PowerPoint material for travelers. During the Summer 2023 she will be teaching two Italian courses in Assisi, Italy.
Caterina is also an artist and created special effects for over 60 theater, dance and music productions, including The Lion King on Broadway and The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera. She also exhibited her “Dresses of Transformation” in 10 venues in New York City, Italy and Germany.
C. Finley, Founder and Curator of the Every Woman Biennial and director of the La MaMa Galleria is known for her elaborate paintings and intense use of color, monumental murals, multi-disciplinary collaborations, and her activism through urban art interventions, including her acclaimed Wallpapered Dumpsters. As the creator of the 2014-2021 Every Woman Biennial she has exhibited 1200 female and non-binary artists in New York, Los Angeles and London. Finley has shown internationally and her work has been featured in the The New York Times, La Repubblica, Dazed, Fast Company, Women’s Wear Daily, Cultured, and more.
Sam Gruber (B.A. Medieval Studies from Princeton University, Ph.D. in art and archaeology from Columbia University) is an internationally recognized art and architectural historian, and historic preservationist. His specialties are medieval Italian art and architecture and the art and architecture of Judaism. Sam is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (Rome Prize in Art History), and has been a recipient of an NEH fellowship, and research grants from many foundations and institutions. He presently teaches Jewish Studies and Art History at Syracuse University (since 1994) and Cornell University (since 2017) and he has taught at Temple University (Rome); Columbia University; Colgate University, Binghamton University; and LeMoyne College. Sam is an expert on Medieval and Renaissance Italian architecture and cities. His doctoral dissertation is “Medieval Todi: Studies in Architecture and Urbanism,” and he has published many articles on medieval Italian cities.
For 30 years Sam has also been a leader in the documentation and presentation of Jewish heritage worldwide. He was founding director of the Jewish Heritage Program of the World Monuments Fund and Research Director of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, with projects in Italy and many countries in Central and Eastern Europe. He is presently working on a research project to document the roles and spaces of women in Italian Synagogues from the Middle Ages to today.
Alex Hillkurtz is a watercolor artist currently living in Paris, France. Alex was born in England and grew up in California, where he was an award-winning film student at Chapman University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film Production, he established himself as a successful illustrator and storyboard artist in Hollywood, collaborating with many of the film industry’s leading directors and cinematographers.
Since moving to Paris, Alex has turned his focus to a career as a watercolor artist. He enjoys discovering the aspects of the city that sketching and painting uniquely allow. Alex uses the language of cinema to inform his images, moving beyond what is most obvious, and focusing the viewer’s eye on what he wants them to see.
Alex’s works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Europe, the United States, and Russia. Alex is a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society (USA), an associate member of the California Watercolor Association, a member of French Plein Air Painters, and USK Paris.
He conducts regular workshops and masterclasses on watercolor painting and sketching, teaching students of all levels and backgrounds how to infuse their paintings with a marvelous sense of life. His on-line course with Domestika has reached over 120,000 students worldwide, and his book “Sketching Techniques for Artists” was published in 2021 by Quarto Publishing.
James Hindman is an award-winning playwright and actor. His plays have been produced in London, New York, Los Angeles and across the U.S. He’s performed on Broadway, appeared in several television shows and films, and is also co-owner of the theatrical licensing and producing company, Miracle or 2 Productions. His one-man show, What Doesn’t Kill You, was recently produced at The International Dublin Theatre festival where it received a 5 Star review in the Irish Times and was nominated for three Oscar Wilde Awards.
As a writer, his Off Broadway credits include: Popcorn Falls directed by two-time Tony Award Winner Christian Borle (Chosen ‘Top Twenty Theatrical Moments of 2018’), Pete 'N' Keely (Outer Critics Award nomination, two Drama Desk nominations), The Audience (Drama Desk nomination), A Christmas Survival Guide, Being Audrey (Transport Group, NEA Grant recipient), The Gorges Motel, One Christmas Eve At Evergreen Mall (NYFringe Festival) and his one man show, What Doesn’t Kill You.
His other works include Multiple Family Dwelling (New Jersey Rep.), The Bikinis (Long Wharf, Goodspeed Musicals), The Drama Department (Terrence McNally Award finalist), Heaven Help Us (Denver Center, Carbonell Award nom.), and The Pin-Up Girls (Casa Manana Theatre). His plays are published by Dramatist Play Service, Samuel French, Stage Rights and Dramatic Publishing. Many of his short plays and monologues are published by Smith & Kraus and Applause Books. He has been a featured artist at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, is a member of The Dramatist Guild of America and a substitute teacher for Playwriting at The Barrow Group.
As a performer: Film and Television: “The Report”, “Oceans 8”, Marvel’s “Iron Fist”, “The Americans”, recurring role on Steven Spielberg’s “Public Morals”, “Madam Secretary”, “Forever”, “Believe”, “Person of Interest”, “Hostages”, “House Of Cards”, “Henry’s Crime”, “The Sopranos”, "Law and Order, SVU, CI”, “Rescue Me” and “The Blacklist”. Broadway and tours: Mary Poppins, The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1776, City of Angels, A Grand Night for Singing, Once Upon a Mattress, Falsettos, Dancing at Lughnasa.
Robert J. Hughes is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, who specialized in cultural coverage, and is a novelist whose Late and Soon (Carroll & Graf) was praised by writers such as Adriana Trigiani and Edmund White for its beautiful prose and depth of characterization. He works as a writer on a variety of projects, from ghostwriting to playwriting, and lives between New York and Paris.
Elliot Kreloff is an award-winning designer and children’s book illustrator. His career as creative director for Scholastic Books, Disney Publishing Worldwide, MacMillan Publishing and his own studio, Design Five, has spanned over forty years. As an arts educator, he has taught at Parsons School of Design, New York Institute of Technology, Rutgers University and Fordham University. His books have been awarded Best Book of the Year by Child Magazine, and he has received numerous awards from various professional design organizations and publications including the Bookbinders Guild, Art Direction, Communication Arts and the Society of Illustrators. He is a graduate of Cooper Union and holds a master’s degree from Hunter College.
Douglas A. Martin is the author of ten books spanning both poetry and prose. Their first novel, Outline of My Lover, was named an International Book of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement and adapted in part by the Forsythe Company for the multimedia ballet and live film, “Kammer/Kammer.” Other publications include: Once You Go Back, finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in Gay Memoir/Biography; Branwell, finalist for the Publishing Triangle’s Ferro-Grumley Award; a triptych of novellas detailing aspects of the lives of painters Balthus and Francis Bacon and poet Hart Crane, Your Body Figured; a collection of stories, They Change the Subject; and a book-length essay and lyric study, Acker, praised in The New York Times as “comprehensive and complex…nothing short of a kind of strange magic.” Their most recent title is Wolf, an anti true crime novel. They have been translated into Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese with Spanish forthcoming. They are a co-author of The Haiku Year and co-editor of Kathy Acker: The Last Interview and Other Conversations. They teach classes in all genres at Wesleyan University and serve there as Assistant Director of the Creative Writing program. They work as well with MFA students at Goddard College.
S.J. Rozan is the author of eighteen novels and more than 75 short stories, and the editor of three anthologies. She has won multiple awards for both novel and short story, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, Macavity; Japanese Maltese Falcon; and the Private Eye Writers of America Life Achievement Award. She teaches and lectures widely and has been a Master Artist at The Atlantic Center for the Arts and Writer-in-Residence at Singapore Management University. Her most recent novel is Family Business.
Barbara Shoup is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, a memoir, and two books about the creative process. Her YA novels have been named to the American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books Blue Ribbon Book; Voya Best Young Adult Book and Perfect 10, and the International Reading Association’s Young Adults Choice List. The recipient of the PEN Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship, Lilly Endowment Creative Renewal Fellowships, and fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, she is the Writer-in-Residence at the Indiana Writers Center. Her most recent novel is Looking for Jack Kerouac.