In 2005 I began as a Lecturer, Course Coordinator, and Tutor at UNSW Arts, Design and Media* teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the School of Art History and Theory, the School of Art Education, and now the School of Art and Design Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership.
I was awarded the Inaugural UNSW COFA Dean’s Award for Teaching and was a regular guest presenter at UNSW Academic Learning and Teaching workshops, discussing strategies for participatory learning, visual communication, student engagement, and structuring content to maximise learning. I have also delivered wide-ranging industry presentations, including for NAVA (National Association for Visual Arts), SAMAG (Sydney Arts Management Advisory Group), MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) for Vivid Festival, and MGNSW (Museums and Galleries NSW).
Subjects;
Cultural Management and Policy – introducing key skills and knowledge required to work in the cultural sector, including: establishing organisations, governance and business planning, as well as understanding policy and funding frameworks.
Arts Management and Organisation – providing theoretical and practical frameworks for managing cultural institutions, creative projects, and community-based initiatives.
Exhibiting Cultures – providing a critical introduction to the histories and theories of art institutions and exhibitions with a focus on public collections and museums and their role in our collective futures.
Art, Exhibitions, and Institutions – investigating the role of museums, galleries, and alternative exhibition spaces in shaping cultural knowledge, audience engagement, collective identities, and participatory arts experiences.
Communication in Art, Design and Media – exploring strategies for effective visual and verbal communication within creative and community contexts and understanding how to articulate complex content in adaptable forms.
Organisational Psychology for the Arts – examining psychological principles to enhance teamwork, leadership, motivation, decision-making, and creative collaboration in arts organisations.
Educational Psychology in Arts Education – focusing on pedagogy, inclusive learning strategies, and supporting diverse learners in arts contexts.
Art as Therapy – investigating the therapeutic potential of creative practice to support wellbeing, social connection, and personal development.
* UNSW Art, Design and Architecture (formerly UNSW College of Fine Arts/COFA) is Australia’s largest community of art and design practitioners, researchers, educators, and students, and is internationally recognised for its arts-led transdisciplinary research and community engagement.
Indicative recent student feedback received via My Experience
This is the first time I’ve written a “My Experience” reflection, and I did it because of Eliza. Although I’m only in my second semester, I already know she will be my favourite tutor throughout my entire degree.
She lives far from campus, but she’s always punctual and never leaves early. What impressed me most is her willingness to arrive early or stay late whenever students need extra help. That level of care and dedication is truly rare, and we all appreciate it.
I’ve seen teaching materials from many tutors, and hers are always the most detailed and thoughtful. You can clearly see the depth of her professional and teaching experience. Over the course of the semester, I could feel how she continuously refined and improved the content of our tutorials, always trying out new ideas to better support our learning.
I genuinely enjoyed every single class. Eliza inspired me to become deeply interested in public art projects, something I hadn’t expected at all. I’m so grateful for everything she has shared with us.
Super engaging and fun. I love her classes. She’s someone that I easily connected and just want to chat the whole day if I could.
Eliza is an engaging teacher with a wealth of experience in the arts. Through her classes, I learned so much about what happens behind the scenes of exhibitions from how they are planned to how they are brought to life. She also shared many interesting stories from the curatorial world, which made every class enjoyable. This was my first time taking an online course, and thanks to
The relateable real world examples, the structuring of the classes made it easy to follow, her experience that she shares is invalueable, she has a natural grasp for people and reading the room online and keeping the energy and focus which is not always the case with other online classes i’ve taken. She treats you like a peer and not like a student which makes you feel like you belong and that everyone has something valueable to contribute.
Honestly, Eliza is just really nice and super understanding. She is always gentle with us, and the way she teaches is so engaging, not boring at all. She’s also very responsible. She replies to emails carefully, and when we did our presentations, she was really patient with everyone. She often encourages us and actively responds to our messages in chat box of Zoom. I learned a ton from this course. It totally changed how I see museums, and that new perspective is something I know will stick with me for a long time.
