Art classes, workshops, and one-on-one mentorship, held across the parks, gardens, and museums of New York. Taught by Ileana Lado, a first-generation Cuban-Mexican visual artist and educator from The Bronx who has spent nearly a decade teaching across the city.
This is Artful Learning: building real technical skill, and the creative voice to make it your own. Open to anyone, from first graders to grandparents.
A teaching practice rooted in New York's cultural and educational institutions.
Nearly a decade of teaching across the city's museums, public schools, nonprofits, and universities — past and present roles below.
Upcoming Classes
Learning to See: Drawing at the Museum
Learning with Lado's inaugural group class! A free drawing class for adults and a real introduction to seeing like an artist. We'll cover the five essential skills of drawing and a measuring technique artists have used for centuries. I demonstrate every step before you try it, so you're never guessing. Then you'll practice by sketching from an object in the galleries. No experience needed; you'll leave with a new way of seeing. Just bring a sketchbook and a pencil. Museum admission not included. RSVP required.
Saturday in the Garden: A Family Art Afternoon
A relaxed afternoon making art together among the flowers. Grown-ups and children work side by side in watercolor and oil pastel, looking closely at what's in bloom. I guide each step with a demonstration, so no art experience is needed, just a willingness to play. Every material provided. $35 per person — each person attending needs their own ticket.
Intro to Watercolor: Seeing Green in Prospect Park
A plein air introduction to watercolor, painting outdoors in the park. This class is about learning to really see what's in front of you — and translate it onto paper. You'll learn the basics of watercolor through five essential techniques, start with a thumbnail sketch, then complete a landscape study based on what you see in Prospect Park. I demonstrate each step before you try it, so no experience is needed to begin. We'll be working right on the grass, so bring a blanket and get ready to settle in. All materials provided.
Reserve a Spot →What People Are Saying
Recent and ongoing work.
A selection of museum classes, workshops, and mentorship from across the practice.
Objects of Reflection
Make a Splash
Portfolio Mentorship
Offsite Launch Workshop
Ileana Lado
A working artist and educator — first-generation Cuban-Mexican, from The Bronx.
Ileana is a practicing multidisciplinary artist whose own work in drawing, painting, printmaking, and photography is rooted in documentation, lineage, and cultural memory. She teaches from inside the practice — not from a textbook — which is what lets her show students how artists actually see, decide, and make.
That artist's eye is paired with nearly a decade in the classroom. She teaches at the Brooklyn Museum and serves as an artist-in-residence with the Basquiat Project in NYC Public Schools, and through Learning with Lado she brings both sides — the maker and the teacher — to small-group classes, one-on-one mentorship, and workshops across the parks, gardens, and museums of New York.
More about Ms. Lado →