Visual Arts Teacher, Karen King, Travels the World on UNSW Teaching Scholarship

Long time Visual Arts teacher, Karen King, has returned from an extraordinary world trip having broadened her understanding of what it means to be both a dedicated teacher and researcher.  

King, who teaches Visual Arts, Photography and Digital Media to grades 7-12 at Caroline Chisholm College, is the recipient of the 2013 COFA Premier's Visual Arts Teaching Scholarship, which allowed her to visit Japan, England and France.  The scholarship is presented by the State Government of NSW and sponsored by the College of Fine Arts, now known as UNSW Art & Design.

King's main research interest is in Creating Communities: Connecting Visual Arts students with socially engaged contemporary art and architecture practices, which is also the title of her recent research paper.  As such she says, "[The scholarship] is a unique and wonderful opportunity to investigate an area of interest in your teaching practice and look at other perspectives from leaders in the field across the world."

While in Japan, King met with Japanese curators to discuss how curators, artists and architects have collaborated to revive the communities destroyed by the 2011 tsunami.  In London, she visited the Tate Modern and interviewed contemporary UK visual practitioners.    

Now back in Australia, King is developing new resources for Visual Arts programs.

Read more here.