Selected Works
A featured presentation area for selected pieces and project highlights from Nicole’s broader body of work.
Independent Artist · Arts Educator · Public Programs
Nicole Henao is a Boricua artist, arts educator, and public programs leader born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico and now based in Seattle, Washington. Her work bridges creative practice, museum education, and public engagement for youth, families, and broader communities.
Currently
Creative practice rooted in Puerto Rico, public engagement, and visual storytelling.
Overview
Nicole’s work sits at the intersection of visual art, arts education, public programming, and cultural connection — with a practice shaped by Puerto Rico, museums, families, and access.
About
Nicole Henao is interested in the objects, places, and faces that surround us all. Through drawings, paintings, installations, and arts-centered public engagement, she creates work and experiences that reflect her relationships to people, memory, and environment, while inviting others to form their own connections and associations.
Nicole was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She studied fine arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where she discovered her passion for arts education, and continued studies at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia, and Escuela de Artes Plásticas in San Juan. She has exhibited work in San Juan, New York, and Palm Beach.
Professionally, Nicole has developed and led public-facing arts programs across museum and community settings. Her background combines artist practice with program strategy, education design, and inclusive audience engagement.
Selected Work
A concise overview of Nicole’s visual practice, spanning drawings, paintings, installations, and related bodies of work grounded in memory, place, and lived connection.
Experience
Nicole is currently working as an independent artist, continuing to build a practice shaped by Puerto Rico, public engagement, and visual storytelling while drawing on her background in museum programming and arts education.
Previously, at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, she helped develop, produce, and manage public programs for audiences of all ages — including community festivals, Art After Dark offerings, family and teen workshops, and arts performances. She also served on the City of West Palm Beach Art Life Advisory Committee, contributing to the city’s public art selection process.
Earlier in her career, Nicole worked as an elementary school visual arts teacher in Puerto Rico, grounding her practice in education and direct engagement long before entering museum leadership.