LUAG Community Day: Inside Out - Art and Mindfulness with Shanthi Project

Join us for a unique adventure as we dive into works of art from the LUAG collection and experience them from the inside out. Dr. Kristin Baxter will guide us through an exploration of the senses to experience works of art in new and exciting ways that will help us understand the connection between art, well-being and mindfulness.

LUAG Community Workshops offer opportunities to explore great works of art from the LUAG collection and current exhibitions through conversation, hands-on projects, and sketching. Geared to children ages 4 to 12 and their adult companions, however, all ages are welcome.

Dr. Kristin Baxter, Teaching Artist

From 2009-2022, Dr. Kristin Baxter was an Associate Professor of Art and Director of the Art Education Program at Moravian University in Bethlehem. Like so many of us, the Covid-19 pandemic forced her to re-evaluate her career goals and professional journey. So, while she was gearing up to earn full professor status at Moravian, she decided to leave it all behind and focus on her most meaningful work: teaching young children and adolescents and supporting their parents, teachers, and communities. As she finds her new footing, she is currently a Building Substitute Teacher for the Allentown Public School District, where she has been working as a semi-permanent substitute teacher for a 3rd grade class. At the same time, she is pursuing her Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education Teacher Certification.

In 2016, Dr. Baxter earned her Yoga Teacher Certification (RYT-200) from the Yoga Loft in Bethlehem and soon began a collaboration with Shanti Project, a non-profit organization based in Allentown, that provides mindfulness training to yoga teachers. As a freelance Shanti Project teacher, she teaches mindfulness and art at the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem and during special events at Lehigh University Art Galleries.

She completed her B.A. degree at New York University in Liberal Arts; M.A. degree in Art History and Museum Studies from Case Western Reserve University in collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Art; and Ed.D. in Art and Art Education from Teachers College Columbia University in New York City.

Dr. Baxter has taught art to children, teens, families and teachers at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Children’s Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and Lehman College Art Gallery, in the Bronx, New York. Prior to her work at Moravian University, she was an adjunct professor of art education and art history at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ; Kean University in Union, NJ; and Lorain County Community College in Ohio. Her most recent book is "Creating Vibrant Art Lesson Plans: A Teacher's Sketchbook" (2019), published by Teachers College Columbia University.  Dr. Baxter also is a professional artist and exhibits her work regionally. She lives in the Lehigh Valley with her retired, rescue racing greyhound, Marv Levy, and two rescue cats, James and Kinoebi (found wandering around at Knoebels Amusement Park).

Workshop offered in partnership with Shanthi Project.

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