Research Catalogue

Naomi Zouwer is a cross-disciplinary artist, researcher and arts educator based in Canberra/Kambri Australia. She works across drawing, printmaking, painting and textiles mediums making works that engage with ideas of cultural heritage, identity and the social role of personal objects. 

Naomi's art practice and pedagogical approach are intertwined and informed by new materialist concepts. When working with students, through creative learning strategies she emphasises the agency and relations in and between materials, people and places. Her teaching focus is on exploring interdisciplinary, project-based learning beyond the classroom, particularly within museums, galleries, and outdoor environments. She does this through facilitating learning experiences that promote thinking with and through materials and trusting the creative process in periods of ambiguity or unknowability. The aim is to empower students with new skills by demystifying creative processes and questioning established hierarchies of power within the learning environment.

In 2019, Naomi was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy from the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Prior to this, in 1997, she received her Graduate Diploma in Education and a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) from the University of Newcastle. Naomi is a Lecturer of Teacher Education specialising in the Creative Arts at the University of Canberra.

Naomi has extensive experience in creative program design and delivery with children, teachers, researchers and communities. She specialises in creative processes and education design to improve learning outcomes, engagement, collaboration and development. Naomi has lead creative projects in collaboration with research and cultural institutions, and educational organisations from preschool to tertiary. Her approach is grounded in practice based research (building on her PhD with the ANU), and over 25 years in the arts education and museum sectors.