Catalina Lemaitre (Founder)

My name is Catalina Lemaitre and I am an artist, yogi, cook, nature lover, economist turned social-entrepreneur, non-profit manager and homeschooling mother of two.

I have a Master’s Degree in Peace Operations from George Mason University School of Public Policy and an undergraduate degree in Economics with a Minor in Art History from Suffolk University. I am also formally trained in mind-body-medicine, yoga, nature education and observational drawing; and informally in so many other art forms (lately macramé and weaving — I’m obsessed!).

I have worked with children since I was a teen — at after-school programs, as a volunteer in art therapy children’s groups and schools, in Nepal during our world travels and more recently as a homeschool mom. In what seems now like a former life, I worked in Public Diplomacy for the US State Department, traveling across embassies to better understand and measure the impact of art and cultural activities. I witnessed first hand the power of art in fostering peace and promoting mutual, cross-cultural understanding.

While still working with the US State Department, I became inspired by the crafts I saw on a trip and consequently, returned with another mission — to support and empower talented women artisans in Colombia. I yearned to preserve traditional crafts and bring more art and beauty into the world. With this intention, Calamarie was born — a line of natural and eco-friendly wearable art. This little side project went on to live for over ten years. It employed dozens of women artisans and brought our art to some of the top museums in the world. Our pieces, much to my complete delight, came to be featured in dozens of museum shops including the Chicago Museum of Arts, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the British Museum.

I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil and getting lost inside museums for most of my life. Art in its many forms, along with nature, has been my refuge and a source of healing and inspiration. Art has been a way for me to make sense of my world and to process my emotions.

Art History in the Park was born out of my combined life experiences and a deep belief and desire to share the benefits of art and of knowing our history with other families. My hope is that this work, a playful celebration of art and human history, will become a tool that opens windows for other families, schools and communities to come together and connect. That as we reflect upon the history of art, seek to understand the world in which artists create and then create our own pieces, we all begin to see ourselves, and each other more clearly and to embrace the artists we all carry inside of us. Art belongs to all of us.