Dr. Louisa Penfold is a lecturer and faculty co-chair of Arts and Learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research and practice focus on contemporary art, early childhood education, and play in schools, museums, and public spaces.
During her faculty residency at ArtLab, Dr. Louisa Penfold will lead several art making workshops with students in the HGSE course Contemporary Art in Early Childhood.
Dr. Penfold is the project director of Project Zero’s Art/Play, an NEA-funded study on integrating modern and contemporary art practices into public schools. Run as a partnership between the Department of Early Childhood at Boston Public Schools, the Smithsonian Learning Lab, MoMA, and the Harvard Art Museums, Art/Play explores how contemporary art practices can support the learning of children and teachers through curriculum design and professional development. Penfold’s doctoral research, conducted as a partnership between Tate and the University of Nottingham (UK), investigated the design of children’s play spaces in modern art museums. She also runs Art. Play. Children. Learning., a blog for parents on cultivating children’s creativity through art and play. She has been awarded fellowships and grants from the Smithsonian Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Ian Potter Foundation. Dr. Penfold’s writing can be found in publications including MIT’s Journal of Design and Science, The Journal of Childhood Studies, Curator: The Museum Journal, and The Australian. The Curtis Brown Literary Agency represents her.
Public program: ArtPlay for Families- November 13, 4:30 PM
This event will share ideas and research that underpin Louisa’s forthcoming book ‘Every Child Is an Artist’ (Workman Publishing, 2026)