Christopher Rodriguez Barake
Sr. Coordinator of Academic Support Services | Adjunct Faculty
crodri@fiu.edu
305-348-6648
Office: VH234

Christopher Barake oversees Art + Art History Student Success Pathways at Florida International University, supporting student professional development through internships, exhibitions, and partnerships with artists and cultural institutions across South Florida. He manages program accreditation, data collection and assessment, and contributes to curriculum initiatives including the redesign of the Museum Studies program and the MFA Curatorial Practice track. Alongside his administrative role, he teaches Research + Development, connecting students with regional arts networks and professional opportunities.

Before joining the department, Barake coordinated an artist-in-residence program and led community-based collaborative art projects for the FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts. His career at FIU began in 2007 in the Division of Student Affairs, where he managed the Graham Center Art Gallery.

A Miami-based independent curator, his research focuses on contemporary art from Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Brazil, and on the role of alternative and site-responsive exhibition spaces in cultural production. He is a member of IKT – International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art.

Theodore “Theo” Rivero
Coordinator of Administrative Services
thrivero@fiu.edu
305-348-7819
Office:VH216D

Theodore Rivero is a multi-media artist with experience in digital illustration, 2D animation, and film. After years of being self-taught, he attended Florida International University and earned a Bachelor of Arts and an Art History minor in 2022. Since then, he has been a freelance artist specializing in digital art since 2018 and is currently focusing on concept art and tattoo work.

Maida Purdy
Academic Advisor III
maida.purdy@fiu.edu
305-348-7500
Office: PCA274

Maida has a true passion to change students’ lives through education and has devoted herself to teaching and advising. She joined FIU in May 2011 as an academic advisor for the College of Undergraduate Education and became part of the CARTA family in the year 2013. She currently advises Art + Art History students.

Prior to FIU, Maida worked at Miami Dade College for three years where she began her advising career in Advisement and Career Services. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Havana: A Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Tourism and Marketing.

Lauren Gentile
Academic Advisor II
lgentile@fiu.edu
305-348-7500
Office: PCA274

Lauren began her career at FIU in 2018 as an academic advisor for Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Previously, she was employed at Johnson & Wales University in North Miami for seven years as an academic support advisor.

She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida and her Master’s of Education Degree in School Counseling from Florida Gulf Coast University.

Victoria Carballo
Ceramics & Sculpture Lab Manager | Adjunct Faculty
vcarball@fiu.edu
Office: W1C-110
www.lotsofpots.studio

Victoria Carballo, a Miami-born artist of Cuban heritage, is renowned for her innovative exploration of ceramics, porcelain, crochet, and found objects. As a professor at Florida International University, where she teaches ceramics and serves as the lab manager for the ceramics and sculpture studio, Victoria brings her passion for artistic expression and education to the forefront.

Drawing inspiration from her cultural roots and personal experiences, Victoria’s work delves into themes of identity, memory, and tradition versus modernity. Through her mastery of unconventional materials, she creates evocative pieces that challenge perceptions and invite contemplation.

Victoria’s art has been showcased in galleries and exhibitions throughout Miami and beyond, captivating audiences with her innovative approach and meticulous craftsmanship. Her commitment to artistic exploration and community engagement is evident in her collaborative projects and involvement in local arts initiatives.

In addition to her academic and artistic pursuits, Victoria is dedicated to fostering dialogue and creativity both inside and outside the studio. Her work as an educator and mentor inspires the next generation of artists to embrace their unique voices. As she continues to push the boundaries of her practice, Victoria remains committed to exploring new avenues of expression and sharing her vision with the world.

Tristan Cuenca
Photography Studio Lab Manager
tcuenca@fiu.edu
Office: VH121
digital-dreams.mmm.page

Tristan Cuenca is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in video art and film photography. His practice explores memory, dreams, and documentation through the use of analog and digital media. Drawing from the anti-art tradition, his work emphasizes process, sincerity, and experimentation over polished spectacle, often utilizing degraded or obsolete formats to examine authorship, attention, and image-making in contemporary culture.

Tristan currently serves as Photography Studio Lab Manager at Florida International University, where he supports students and faculty across analog and digital photography workflows, darkroom printing, studio operations, and equipment management.

Joseph Antonio Canizales
Sculpture Lab Manager
jcanizal@fiu.edu
Office: W1- 114

Joseph Antonio Canizales is a Salvadoran and Honduran American artist based in Miami, Florida. He serves as Sculpture Professor and Sculpture Lab Manager at Florida International University, where he oversees the daily operations, maintenance, and safety of the sculpture facilities while supporting student learning and technical instruction. His teaching emphasizes the intersection of digital and traditional sculptural processes, encouraging experimentation, technical skill development, and the patience necessary for a discipline built on trial, error, and discovery. Canizales received an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, a BFA in Sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute, and attended the Yale Norfolk School of Art.

Through digital and analog processes, Canizales’s work examines the intertwined relationship between geological forces and the built environment. His practice draws connections between contemporary methods of extracting, gathering, and processing stone and the slow yet persistent processes of naturally occurring erosion. Utilizing 3D printing, 3D modeling, 3D scanning, and traditional sculptural techniques, he investigates how technology can deepen our understanding of geological sites and material histories.

Canizales’s work has been exhibited at the Foundry Art Centre, Kemper Art Museum, Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris, France), Patience Gallery (United Kingdom), Bruno David Gallery, Granite City Art and Design District, and in virtual exhibitions focused on environmental art. He is the recipient of the Milliken Travel Award, an Honorable Mention from the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Awards, the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship, the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship, and the McKeown Grant. His writing has been published in the UC Berkeley Architecture Journal and Washington University in St. Louis Open Scholarship. He has completed residencies at Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology & Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France, and Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, Minnesota.

Ana Vergara
Graduate Assistant
www.anavergara.art
Instagram: @anasvergara

Ana Vergara’s work builds on the relationship between space and place and its consequences on collective culture, memory, and identity. Using found construction materials and images, both derived from the domestic and the mundane, she comments on rapid urban-environmental change (such as migration, redevelopment, and displacement). Through the use of these materials, she takes an observational approach to piecing together narratives that reflect broader collective experiences.

Vergara’s work has been exhibited in group shows in museums and galleries in the United States, including the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona, the Koubek Center, the Martin & Pat Fine Center for the Arts, the Miami Design District Gallery, the MIFA Gallery, and the New World Gallery. She earned her BFA from the New World School of the Arts, where she graduated as Valedictorian in 2023, and attended the Yale Norfolk School of Art in 2022. She joins FIU as a Graduate Assistant and RA+DI Fellow and is supported by the Berkowitz scholarship, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Visual Arts Scholarship, and the CARRERA x FIU Scholarship.