Defining the National Gallery of Australia's Pedagogical Approach: The Creative Learning Project

Description of impact

Impact Statement

The Creative Learning Project transformed how the National Gallery of Australia designs and delivers learning with art by embedding a research‑informed, culturally grounded pedagogical framework across its education programs. The Creative Learning Approach (CLA) has strengthened educator capability, improved engagement for tens of thousands of learners annually, and established a scalable Australian model for culturally responsive art museum education with growing national and international uptake.

Challenge and How the Research Addresses It

Prior to this research, the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), like many art museums internationally, relied on a patchwork of inherited education practices and pedagogical models developed primarily in Northern Hemisphere contexts. While approaches such as Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and object‑based learning were widely used, they were not designed to adequately support learning with aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks, artists’ intentions, and Indigenous knowledge systems. This created a gap between institutional commitments to cultural respect and reconciliation and the pedagogical tools available to educators working directly with students, teachers, and public audiences.

The Creative Learning Approach (CLA) was developed to address this gap and to provide a contemporary and consistent pedagogical approach across its programs.  Co‑designed through a funded research collaboration between Naomi Zouwer (lead researcher) and NGA educators, the CLA provides a coherent, evidence‑based pedagogical framework that centres artist intent, inquiry, slow looking, embodied experience, and culturally responsive teaching. It equips educators with shared language, principles, and strategies that support deep engagement with artworks while foregrounding ethical interpretation and cultural safety.

Beyond the NGA, the CLA responds to a broader national and international need for museum learning models that move beyond Euro-American pedagogical dominance. Its development in the Australian/Southern Hemisphere context positions it as a transferable framework for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM institutions) seeking to work responsibly with Indigenous knowledges, contemporary art practices, and diverse audiences. As such, the research has relevance for art museums nationally and globally, particularly in post‑colonial contexts where institutions are rethinking how learning, authority, and cultural knowledge are negotiated.

Why This Matters

Where other approaches encourage open interpretation largely divorced from contextual knowledge, the CLA explicitly guides educators to situate meaning-making in relation to artists’ intentions, ideas and cultural protocols. For example, when working with Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander artworks, educators using the CLA are supported to slow down interpretation, acknowledge cultural ownership, and frame inquiry in ways that respect living knowledge systems – shifting learning experiences from speculative discussion to culturally informed engagement.

Research and Engagement Activities

The Creative Learning Project combined practice-based research, collaborative design, and professional learning. Naomi Zouwer worked closely with NGA education staff to research existing pedagogical models, analyse institutional needs, and co‑design the Creative Learning Approach and accompanying resources. Research outputs included:
- a comprehensive pedagogical guide;
- peer-reviewed publications;
- public talks; and
- online resources supporting educator implementation

Knowledge translation activities (selected examples):

Conference presentation: National Visual Art Education Conference
Presentation with Harriet Body (National Gallery of Australia) at the National Visual Art Education Conference (National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2026), attended by teacher educators, museum professionals, and researchers. This presentation translated the CLA project and research into a sector-relevant framework, extending awareness beyond the NGA and positioning the approach for adoption in higher education and school‑museum partnerships.

International podcast: The Art Engager
Participation in an international museum education podcast (Feb 2026) with a global listenership of museum educators and curators (averaging approximately 4,500 downloads per month, with the US and UK comprising 44% and 23% of listeners respectively). This extended the reach of the CLA beyond Australia and into the United States, United Kingdom and beyond, contributing to international conversations about developing context-specific approaches to learning in museums, decolonising pedagogy, and culturally responsive museum practice.

Professional development workshop (practice uptake):
Professional learning workshop for GLAM educators (2026), hosted by the National Gallery of Australia, focused on applying the CLA to participants’ own institutional contexts. This directly supported the adoption and adaptation of the framework beyond the NGA.

Academic seminars:
Dr Zouwer has presented the Creative Learning Approach to multiple academic seminars and conferences to share the process, findings and CLA framework with artist educators, GLAM professionals, and academics to help embed the CLA into teacher education discourse, support longer-term and broader uptake in schools and cultural institutions, and contribute to national and global academic discourse. Presentations include:
- Critical Autoethnography Conference at Monash University (2025), co-presenting the paper ‘Making Good Humans’ with co-author Nic Hearn.
- Creative Schools Conference at the University of Sydney (2025) with Harriet Body (NGA collaborator).
- University of Canberra’s Faculty of Education seminar series (Canberra,2026), engaging pre-service teachers, UC academics, and guests.

Together, these activities have helped advance the pathway to impact for this research by translating the CLA into accessible, actionable knowledge for educators, institutions, and policy‑adjacent audiences. Further knowledge exchange activities will be explored to continue implementation, along with opportunities to evaluate its effectiveness and assess its impact.

Institutional uptake and reach

Within the NGA, more than 40 Artist Educators have been trained to implement the CLA. These educators collectively reach approximately 50,000 school students each year, in addition to teachers and general visitors participating in on‑site programs, 10,000 school students through online learning, and public programs linked to major exhibitions, including First Nations exhibitions.

“Artist educators are driven by the development of understanding and imagination through collaborative practice, creating powerful learning experiences that connect learners through stories and diverse perspectives to change thinking and promote curiosity.” - Head of Learning, The National Gallery of Australia.
The CLA has increased coherence across NGA education offerings, strengthened educator confidence, and supported more inclusive, inquiry-driven learning experiences.

Internal evaluation and educator feedback collected following CLA professional learning sessions indicate increased educator confidence in facilitating inquiry‑driven learning and greater consistency across NGA education programs. Post‑training reflections highlighted the value of the CLA in delivering engaging learning experiences more closely with artists’ intentions.

“Being able to change how people think about art is the most magical outcome of a gallery visit.”- Artist Educator, The National Gallery of Australia

Reach, Outcomes, and Significance

The Creative Learning Approach contributes impact across culture, society, sector capability, wellbeing, and cultural understanding.

Cultural impact (emerging impact):
The CLA supports more ethical and respectful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art by embedding cultural protocols, artist voice, and contextual knowledge into learning encounters. This contributes to improved public understanding of Indigenous art as contemporary, living cultural practice rather than historical artefact.

Sector capability (emerging impact):
The training of over 40 NGA Artist Educators has built institutional pedagogical capacity and created a shared, sustainable framework that reduces reliance on ad-hoc or imported models. Educators report increased confidence and professional satisfaction through working with a clear, values-aligned pedagogical approach. The NGA’s position as a national leader and interest from other GLAM institutions in Australia and internationally indicate the CLA’s potential to lift pedagogical practice across the sector.

National and international significance (emerging impact):
As one of the first art museum pedagogical models developed in and for the Australian/Southern Hemisphere context, the CLA establishes a precedent for locally grounded, research‑informed museum education. Emerging national and international interest signals its potential to influence practice beyond the NGA, particularly in institutions seeking culturally responsive alternatives to dominant Northern Hemisphere models.

The significance of the Creative Learning Approach is underscored by its formal adoption within the National Gallery of Australia. The CLA continues to be used as the guiding pedagogical framework for NGA education programs, professional learning, and exhibition‑related learning design, indicating sustained institutional commitment beyond the life of the funded research.

Societal impact (potential impact):
By reaching tens of thousands of students annually, the CLA enhances young people’s capacity for critical, reflective, and culturally informed engagement with art. This supports broader educational goals around intercultural understanding and reconciliation.

Wellbeing impact (potential impact):
The emphasis on slow looking, embodied experience, and reflective inquiry supports learner wellbeing by creating spaces for attentiveness, curiosity, and connection. Changes in student and Artist Educator learning and teaching as a result of CLA will need to be monitored to determine impacts.