Andrés Manner is a Venezuelan photographer with over 30 years of experience in both image-making and education. He began his photography studies in Caracas before continuing at the Art Institute of Boston and later at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, specializing in photojournalism and documentary photography. Throughout his career, Manner has worked across journalism, the arts, and music, while remaining deeply committed to teaching. He spent four years living and working as a photographer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, further expanding his visual language and professional collaborations. In 2011, he co-founded Cubo 7, Espacio Fotográfico in Caracas — a cultural space dedicated to photography. After relocating to Miami, he co-founded the Miami Institute of Photography (MIP) in 2017. MIP quickly became a hub for photographers and creatives, offering exhibitions, talks, and a strong educational program. After a pandemic-related pause, the school has reopened as a hybrid platform, continuing its mission with renewed energy and an expanded team of instructors.

Jorge Andrés Castillo is a photographer, editor, and educator from Caracas, Venezuela. Based in Miami, he teaches photography at Istituto Marangoni and collaborates with the Doral Contemporary Art Museum and Arts Connection Foundation. An active collaborator at the Miami Institute of Photography and former professor at Universidad Central de Venezuela, Castillo also led the Photography Department at El Nacional, where he directed the paper’s transition from analog to digital. He holds a Master’s in Communications Design from the University of Essen, Germany, and is the founder of the Miami-based studio Jacvisual. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally.

Victor Jaramillo is a Venezuelan lawyer and photographer based in Miami. After earning degrees in law in Caracas and international business law in Barcelona, he shifted his focus to photography. Since 2021. He has worked full-time as a photographer, specializing in portraiture. He is part of the World Red Eye team and has exhibited his work at the Bakehouse Art Complex, Coral Gables Museum, and Miami Dade College. Since 2024, he teaches portrait workshops at the Miami Institute of Photography.

Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Venezuela, Gabriela is a multidisciplinary artist working with film, performance, video, multimedia installations, and photography. Having lived in Venezuela, Europe, and the U.S., she explores movement, communication, and transformation. With a background in art and design from the University of Chicago, she has been part of experimental projects like POLYBURO and MUSIKAUTOMATIKA. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Caracas, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santiago, The Coral Gables Museum, Miami, and the Boston Center for the Arts. In 2021, she received the Ellies Creator Award from Oolite Arts, and in 2024, she was awarded the Harris Barron Fellowship to attend Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Gamboa currently lives in Miami, where her studio is at the Bakehouse Art Complex.

Beatriz Grau is an artist and professor with an MFA in Photography from the Glasgow School of Art. Her work focuses on the photographic image, exploring how it is shaped by time, gaze, and the processes inherent to photographic media. The complex relationships between these three elements gradually unfold through deliberate journeys across remote or familiar landscapes, or even across the very surface of the images themselves. She has been a professor in the Department of Art at Universidad de los Andes since 2007. We are partnering with Beatriz through her space, OjoVivo, for what we hope will be a long journey, just like the friendship that brings us together.

Rafael’s photographic journey began at the Central University of Venezuela, where he studied under renowned figures such as José Ignacio Cabrujas, María Teresa Boulton, and José Balza. His close friendship with Venezuelan master Luis Brito deepened his understanding of visual culture, leading him to collaborate with prominent photographers like Nelson Garrido and Ricardo Armas. Later on, Guillén worked alongside artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, serving as his photographer for over a decade at the Articruz studio. These experiences have shaped his documentary style, focused on themes of culture, identity, and the human condition.