Monica Lynn Manoski

is an artist, curator, and community arts advocate. She is the Executive Director of Essex Art Center, a community-based arts nonprofit in Lawrence, MA. Monica is part of the ChangeMakers cohort, working to build and sustain a diverse arts ecosystem throughout Essex County, and a LEADS fellow, fostering collaborative and trusting relationships to create systems-level change​​. As a curator, she works to introduce audiences to the wholeness of each artist. Manoski has published two books, including a collection of poems and film photography called Sisters in this Ritual and a children’s book, Where the Crows Paint the Sky, which features the richly textured paintings of Timothy Kadish. Monica holds an MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University, an MSEd in early childhood education from Dominican University, and is a certified Reiki practitioner. She lives in Lawrence with her partner TJ and her one-year-old son Mason.