Sheetal Prajapati, Principal & Founder

Sheetal is an arts professional with over 20 years of experience in the creative and cultural sectors. Prior to launching Lohar Projects in 2019, Sheetal spent 16 years working in art education and public engagement roles at the The Museum of Modern Art and Pioneer Works in New York as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University (Illinois).  Over her career, Sheetal also spends time with creative people at all stages in their careers as a mentor, advisor, and professor.  She regularly give talks and workshops and works across the field in a range of capacities. You can learn more about her experience and broader practice at sheetalprajapati.com.

Trained as an arts administrator and practicing as an educator and artist, Sheetal brings both a creative and strategic approach to  Lohar Projects’ work with a focus on fostering a collaborative process for growth. 

Kristel Baldoz, Operations Advisor

Kristel Baldoz is the Department Administrator for New York University's Tisch Initiative for Creative Research. As an arts administrator, she has supported the operation at Common Field and Movement Research, project managed for Faustin Linyekula, and assisted Anna Deveare Smith. She is an alumna of NYU holding an MA in Arts Politics as well as a BA in Dance, Theater, and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. Kristel is also a multidisciplinary artist working across performance, dance, and ceramics. Her work has been supported by the Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation, New York Live Arts, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She was a 2019 EmergeNYC fellow at the Hemispheric Institute and, in 2022, an artist-in-residence at the Chautauqua Institution School of Visual Art and Art Cake. Kristel's works have been featured in Brooklyn Rail and Fjord. As a performer, she has worked with Reggie Wilson, Anh Vo, Wilmer Wilson IV, Kate Watson-Wallce, and Alex Da Corte.

Andrea Gil Garcia, Project Engagement Consultant 

Andrea Gil-Garcia has over eight years of experience in critical pedagogy, cultural programming, and administration. Andrea is committed to equity, increasing meaningful social engagement, and amplifying diverse voices through microgrants and direct service programming in New York City museums and grassroots community art institutions including Groundswell Community Mural Project, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Artists Space, Dedalus Foundation and the Laundromat Project. In each professional position, Andrea has advocated for improved access to the arts for first-generation immigrant youth of color and families from underserved communities. She holds a B.A. in Visual Arts and Education Studies from the New School and is completing an Executive Master's in Public Administration from New York University.

Erica Nguyen, Archivist

Erica Nguyen's interdisciplinary studies at UC Berkeley combined Ethnographic Film and Sociolinguistics. As a grassroots documentary filmmaker and Vietnamese-American, she is motivated to collaborate through mutual self study. Since 2012 Erica has developed audiovisual art programs for her communities- participating in Peruvian documentary activism, archiving Pueblo traditional skills and more. She completed the Peruvian feature documentary Shadow Weavers 2020, which was awarded Best NM Documentary Feature at SFiFF. At Her Fingertips was nominated Best Documentary at PSIFF. She is a PCGI certified rock climbing instructor and outdoor behavioral health facilitator since 2017, with a community Acu-detox  harm reduction practice.

Jenna Madison Wixson, Project Consultant

Jenna Madison Wixson is a museum education veteran with over twenty years of experience creating accessible interpretive resources and dynamic artist-centered public programs. Inspired by the power of art to inspire and connect to communities, cultures, and histories, she has spent her career developing inclusive learning initiatives and programming for audiences of all ages, backgrounds, levels of knowledge, and abilities. She holds an M.A. in Art History and has worked in museums of varying scopes and sizes, including the High Museum of Art, The Denver Art Museum, MoMA, and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. An educator at heart, she also teaches undergraduate and graduate level classes in art history and museum studies.