Joshua Brilliant

Joshua Brilliant is the Manager of Education Operations at Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Joshua has also been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University - Camden, The College of New Jersey, and Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Joshua has been with Mann Center for the Performing Arts since December 2021.

Joshua has been teaching photography courses since September 2012. Joshua has taught digital photography, advanced digital photography, experimental photography, imaging, photography, visual thinking, and independent study. Joshua has also been the Director of Education at Philadelphia Photo Arts Center since July 2012, where they oversee the curriculum for all foundation classes and workshops. In this role, they have also increased education income by 133%.

Joshua is also responsible for hiring, training, and managing all contract teaching artists at Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Joshua has developed course content and schedules for over 60 new classes and workshops since 2012. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joshua quickly shifted to online education in March 2020 when PPAC had to close its doors. Within a week, they had conceived a curriculum for online education which included 65 courses in the months of March and April. 40-50 online courses are continually offered each month.

In addition to their work with courses and instructors, Joshua has also developed a Photo-in-Schools program that sends teaching artists to Philadelphia schools to work with students in grades 5-8 on learning visual literacy through photography. Joshua has also established a tuition-based youth education program that is offered during the school year and teen summer camp.

Joshua’s dedication to photography education extends beyond their work at Mann Center for the Performing Arts. Joshua also co-organized and co-programmed the Philadelphia Art Book Fair between the years 2015 - 2018. Cumulatively the fair brought in over 10,000 visitors, 400 exhibitors, and 35 different artists, curators, book publishers, and critics to speak. Additionally, they created and organized PPAC’s Destination Photo Trip program which brought participants to Havana, Cuba and New Orleans.

Joshua Brilliant holds a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University in Visual Art, Photography. Joshua also has a Master of Arts from Syracuse University in Museum Studies and a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University in Film and Media Arts.

Some of their coworkers include Walter Horton - Building Services Manager, Destiny Bugg - Manager of Board of Director Relations & the President's Office, and Naomi Gonzalez - Chief Education, Community Engagement Officer & Vice President. Joshua Brilliant reports to Catherine M. Cahill, President & CEO.