Meet Matt Manalo
Artist Matt Manalo loves Houston for many reasons, but in particular, he loves how authentic the city is. "We're not trying to be like New York, or LA; we're trying to be us. And I think that identity, and that motivation to stand out. without pretending to be someone else is what makes Houston special." Houston is a great city for artists like himself, because "the community is so supportive." Artists help each other out, and arts organizations such as Diverse Works,* Project Row Houses, and the Houston Art League "think about artists first and make sure that they are taken care of."
Matt, who moved to Houston from the Philippines when he was 19, believes Houston has the kind of charm that makes people want to stay for the rest of their lives. "I've met the most amazing folks here," he says. One of these amazing folks is his wife, whom he first met in an illustration course at the University of Houston. "It's funny," he says, "because we both knew that the other existed, but we never really sat down and spoke to each other during class. It wasn't until later that we started hanging out. I started inviting her to my art shows, and she would never come. I felt really bad about this until finally, she showed up at a show, and then everything started."
Matt’s life could have turned out very differently if his family had stayed in the Philippines instead of moving to Houston. Growing up in Manila, he says, “we never really had plans or even discussed that we're going to be moving in the US in 20 years, so we need to get ready by then.” Prior to their move, Matt was in college studying computer engineering. Becoming an artist — and meeting his future wife — was the farthest thing from his mind. But after his parents visited Matt's ailing grandfather in Houston and discovered there were teaching positions open to his mother, she applied, got accepted, and moved the family during the next year. The first few years in Houston were hard for Matt. “I was already three years in college when we moved, and I decided that computer engineering wasn't for me anymore. My relatives encouraged me to pursue nursing because of the Texas Medical Center, so I tried that for a while. Well, it didn't work out, and I had an awakening. I decided to talk to my parents to tell them that this is not for me and I really want to go for art. And so that's what I did. And then next thing I know, I graduated from University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in painting. And now I'm doing art and couldn’t be happier about it.”
*Through a fellowship from DiverseWorks, Matt created the Alief Art House. Learn more: https://www.diverseworks.org/in-the-works/exhibtion-performance/matt-manalo-alief-art-house
Matt’s Biography
Matt Manalo was born and raised in Manila, Philippines and immigrated to the United States in 2004. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with a minor in Art History from the University of Houston. His work was recently seen in the exhibition, There Is Enough for Everyone, curated by Michael Stevenson and Josh Anderson, and he was included in the 2018 and 2017 The Big Show exhibitions at Lawndale Art Center. In 2017 he had a solo show at Kirk Hopper Fine Art Gallery (Dallas) and he has been included in group exhibitions at venues such as The Center for Reconciliation (Providence, RI), Box 13 (Houston), Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin), and Human Resources LA (Los Angeles), among others. Manalo is the founder of Filipinix Artists of Houston, a collective of visual, performing, literary, culinary, and multidisciplinary artists. A frequent topic of his work is how the colonization of the Philippines by Spain, Japan, and the United States resulted in erasure, colorism, and a colonial mentality.
