Patty Aikonedo, Founder & Executive director of the children

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Patty is an arts educator, researcher, and creative practitioner whose work explores the intersections of art, equity, and belonging. She holds an MA in Museums and Galleries in Education from University College London’s Institute of Education, where she later conducted doctoral research on Black diasporic narratives and counter-storytelling in traditional museum spaces.

With a background in Art History and over a decade of experience across nonprofit management, arts administration, and education, Patty has led strategic initiatives that expand equitable access to creative learning. Her projects and collaborations span the British Museum’s Samsung Digital Learning Center, Hackney Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as small community museums throughout London and Chicago.

As a former practicing artist reintroducing herself to artmaking, Patty’s current work is a return to the studio — where pedagogy meets painting and sculpture, and where education becomes a living, creative act. Through The Children’s Gallery Chicago, she continues to design programs that empower youth to see themselves not only as artists, but as authors of their own stories and stewards of their communities.