Maria Manhattan has lived and worked as an artist in Hudson for 16 years.

In her interview, Maria begins by discussing her upbringing in Brooklyn and an impactful trip to Europe in high school, which she won as part of a political debate contest. She shares stories from this trip and other memories from her adolescence, particularly her discovery of a passion for the arts.

Maria talks about her move from New York to San Francisco from 1970-1980, where she joined theater communities and was exposed to various art forms and helped her to understand her own sexuality and identity as an artist. She speaks about her transition back to New York City in the 1980s and discusses "The Box Lunch," a parody of Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party," which significantly influenced her artistic journey.

She describes her career as an art director in the computer graphics world, highlighting several projects she worked on before shifting her focus to educational software. Maria describes meeting her partner, Mary DePhillips, in the early 2000s, and their move to Hudson.

Maria speaks about her experience living in Hudson. She discusses her sense of community, the changes and socioeconomic issues she has witnessed. She names several programs she has been involved with including Perfect 10 as an art instructor, Wave Farm/WGXC as a radio programmer, and the Hudson Festival Orchestra as an MC for the July 2024 waterfront concert. Maria concludes her interview by emphasizing the importance of the arts for young people.

This interview may interest those researching or wanting to learn more about LGBTQ life in Hudson during the 2000s, art and theater in San Francisco during the 1970s, early computer graphics in the 1980s, and multimedia art.

This interview was recorded for the Hudson Area Library's LGBTQ+ Collection in collaboration with Outhudson and with support from The Spark of Hudson.