Teacher
Maya Tomoe Kitakado is an art practitioner, educator, and art therapist from Tokyo, Japan. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking and obtained a master’s degree in Art Therapy at LASALLE College of the Arts.
She has conducted classes and workshops in primary and tertiary institutions in the United States and has experience working alongside fine artists as a bookbinder at the Hope Bindery (US) and as a papermaker at the Awagami Factory (Japan).
With a passion for art-based community initiatives, Maya has facilitated art and wellness workshops for institutions such as The National Arts Council, Pathlight School, and The Red Pencil. As an art therapist she has supported individuals and families in a hospice setting and adults with special needs.
In her artwork Maya draws from Japanese traditions and contemporary approaches to working with print, paper and book forms. She embraces materiality and process, drawing links to cycles of erosion, repair and rebirth. At SOTA she hopes to play a role in the development of young artists with an emphasis on encouraging empathy, wellbeing, and resilience.