Lisa Kay’s creative voice is enhanced by the integration of her identities as an artist, art therapist, art educator and qualitative and arts-based researcher. Her academic life has provided rich opportunities and pursuits; however, those things that nurture and provide Lisa joy are her creative collaborations with students and colleagues.
A board-certified art therapist and art educator, Dr. Kay’s research interests combine her curiosity about artistic development, the psychology of child art, artists with disabilities and the healing potentials of the creative arts with children, adolescents and adults. Her publications concern the intersections and collaborations of contemporary art education and school art therapy, art making with adolescents who have experienced trauma and adversity, and the use of creative arts and visual imagery as both pedagogical and research methods.
Lisa’s book Therapeutic Approaches in Art Education brings together ideas and resources from her art education research and art therapy practice. Her co-edited book Restorative Practices in Education through the Arts explores ways the arts address trauma-related issues with a particular focus on healing beyond adversity. This book provides beneficial and practical strategies from and for professionals in the fields of art, art education, art therapy, museum education, special education, social work, and school psychology.
Lisa Kay is a Professor in the Department of Art Education and Community Arts Practices, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University and earned an Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate art education and art therapy courses at Tyler, Lisa has taught art therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Moholy Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Hungary.
Prior to completing her doctorate, Lisa earned two degrees from the University of Memphis - a B.F.A. in Graphic Design and an M.A. in Individual Studies, a degree that combined coursework in sociological, psychological and special education theories with Art Therapy. After completing her master’s, she finished a 2-year post-graduate certificate at the St. Louis Institute of Art Psychotherapy.
Education
EdD, Curriculum and Instruction, Art Education, Northern Illinois University, 2008
MA, Individual Studies, Art Therapy, University of Memphis, 1980
BFA, Graphic Design, University of Memphis, 1975
Selected Awards
John and Betty Michael Autobiographical Distinguished Lecturer for 2025-26
Distinguished Fellow
National Art Education Association 2021
Peter J. Geisser Special Needs Art Educator of the Year
National Art Education Association (NAEA), The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), VSA (2016)
Outstanding Special Needs Art Educator (2015)
Pennsylvania Art Education Association
Mary Rouse Award (2015)
Women’s Caucus, National Art Education Association
Fulbright Scholar (2011)
Bridging Borders: Art Therapy, Art Education and Qualitative Inquiry, Hungary
Selected Works
Kay, L., Johns, B., Heise, D. (2025). Restorative Practices in Education through the Arts. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.
Kay, L. (2020). Therapeutic Approaches to Art Education. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.
Kay, L. (2018). Yellow Bricks: Transformative Art Pedagogy. In A. Hunter, D. Heise, & B. Johns (Eds.), Art
for Children Experiencing Psychological Trauma: A Guide for Art Educators and School-Based
Professionals (pp. 157-166). New York, NY: Routledge.
Kay, L., & Wolf, D. (2017). Artful Coalitions: Challenging Adverse Childhood Experiences. Art Education,
70(5), 26-33.
Kaiser, D. H. & Kay, L. (2016). Arts-Based Research: Creating Knowledge in Art Therapy. In D. E. Gussak,
& M. L. Rosal (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Art Therapy (pp. 663-672). Chichester, UK;
Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.
Kay, L. (2015). Research as Bricolage: Navigating in/between the creative arts disciplines. In A. Meadows
& M. Viega (Eds.), Music Therapy Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kay, L. (2013, March). Bead Collage: An Arts-Based Research Method. International Journal of Education
& the Arts, 14(3), 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v14n3/