Executive Director, Baum School of Art
“Allentown is an exciting city with so much to offer. What I love most about Allentown, is that we have such a wonderfully rich and diverse arts community, and so many opportunities to experience the arts.
The Baum School of Art, a community visual arts school since its original founding in 1926, is my favorite spot in Allentown and it is ideally placed across the street from the art museum. Having an arts-rich district in the center of the city was a concept that developed over many decades and I love the neighborhood we are in.
Even though our city is exciting, our community faces a lot of challenges that need to be solved. There is a lot of poverty, food insecurity, housing challenges, and safety issues. I would love to see the quality of life improve for our most vulnerable community members.
Part of our mission is to help with this. Dr. Emerson Walter Baum, the original founder, believed that no child should be deprived of the opportunity to study art because of limited financial resources. He taught paint classes to a group of teachers so that in turn, they would teach their students how to paint. Dr. Baum had a strong vision that we now follow today.
In the 2021-2022 school year, 180 of our students were served off site through community outreach partnerships.
We are a school dedicated to providing instruction, guidance, and encouragement for children and adults who wish to reach their full potential through the study of visual arts. The school celebrates diversity and welcomes all community members, regardless of gender, social status, race, or belief.”
Interview by Abigail Scheidel ’24
