Hi, I'm Louisa
I’m Dr Louisa Penfold - I am an educator, artist, and professor whose work explores how children’s creativity can be cultivated through modern and contemporary art. Art Play Children Learning is a platform where I share activities, inspiration, and research to help parents and carers connect contemporary art and children’s play at home.
I am originally from Melbourne, Australia, and have lived overseas for many years. From 2015 to 2019, I was based in London while doing my PhD in art education. My doctoral research looked at the design of children’s creative spaces in modern art museums. This work was run as a partnership between the University of Nottingham and Tate Modern. My PhD supervisors were Professor Pat Thomson and Dr. Emily Pringle.
I have developed programs and researched children’s creative learning at international art museums including Tate, the Serpentine, and MoMA. I also served as an expert advisor for UNESCO’s 2024 Implementation Framework for Culture and Arts Education. In my current role as Lecturer and Co-Chair of Arts and Learning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I teach classes on the contemporary arts in education, practice-based research, and arts and learning practicum.
Along with Dr Steve Seidel, I co-direct Project Zero’s ArtPlay, a study that investigates the integration of modern and contemporary arts practices into public school curriculum. Our pilot study (2023-2024) was run in partnership with the Department of Early Childhood at Boston Public Schools to develop curriculum and conduct creative workshops with educators as part of their professional development and training.
I am currently writing my first book for parents on children’s art education, which will be released by Workman Publishing in 2026.
I love connecting with others who share my enthusiasm for art and education, so please sign up for the mailing list to stay in touch!
Dr. Louisa Penfold
⭐ Sign up for email updates here
2019 - Doctorate of Philosophy. Tate Modern/ University of Nottingham, UK
Thesis: Pedagogical Curation: Connecting children’s learning with art museum practices.
2012 - Master of Museum Studies, University of Queensland, Australia
Thesis: ‘Family Experience in American Art Museums: Investigating Theories and Practices of Intergenerational Programming.’ Fieldwork undertaken in the education departments at MoMA, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Centre.
2009 - Bachelor of Arts, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Media Arts
Education
