Aki Shibata

IDEAL Center Director

Aki Shibata is a behavioral artist, educator, facilitator, and community organizer from Tokyo, Japan, now based in Minnesota. In her artistic work, she develops intersections for people in public spaces to discover their authentic selves and to nurture compassion for all. Her work is about finding a sense of belonging and finding ways to let people meet their inner peace.

Aki brings 15 years experience in art education and anti-oppression work in K-12 youth programming, within science centers, and within colleges. She spent seven years at the museum and led the NSF-funded project LinCT, a collaboration between STEM Education, the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center, and the IDEAL Center along with various external partners. After finishing that project, Aki worked in the IDEAL center as a Specialist until leaving the museum for a position at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Building out the Teaching Artist program.