Former AHLU student and artist Elizabeth Walker reflects on her time as a student and the work she is now doing as a teacher

My connection with Art History Link-Up began during the Covid period, when classes moved online and education looked very different. Studying Art History through Zoom quickly became a valuable time, it was motivating and engaging, and something I genuinely looked forward to each week. Living in Northern Ireland meant that the online format gave me access to a London-based programme I otherwise couldn’t have reached in person. Studying with Art History Link-Up was life changing and allowed me to truly reflect and dream about what a career in the arts could look like.

I moved to England to pursue Fine Art at Arts University Bournemouth and the network I had built online suddenly became real when I started going to AHLU alumni events with classmates who I had only ever seen online. Those connections helped shape my path as I studied Fine Art, giving me both a community and a broader sense of the art world I wanted to work in. I also have taken part in so many unique opportunities because of my connections with AHLU including working with Southbank Centre as an interview panel moderator and attending private views and exhibition openings across London.

Since completing my degree, I have been balancing my art practice with working as a secondary school art teacher – a step that has felt both natural and rewarding. Alongside teaching, I’ve continued to exhibit my art across the UK; most recently, my work was selected for The Graduate Art Show at The Vanner Gallery in Salisbury, and I am now a selected artist on Hypha Curates in London. This dual path has allowed me to combine hands-on artistic experience with the opportunity to encourage and empower new generations of students, passing on my love for the subject. Returning to Art History Link-Up as a teacher has been a true full-circle moment for me and such an interesting journey to see something so familiar from a completely different perspective.

In the classroom, what I enjoy most is challenging students to really observe and analyse what they’re looking at. It’s easy to rush to an opinion, but slowing down and paying attention often leads to more interesting observations. That approach was something my own AHLU teachers encouraged in me, and it’s a skill central to my practice today.

One of my favourite aspects of the AHLU curriculum is the way it encourages students to connect historical material with contemporary practice. It gives them room to form their own perspectives which they can carry with them long after they finish the programme. Seeing them make those links is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching. I’m glad to be back with AHLU, this time on the other side of the classroom. It has given me a new appreciation for the programme and the community that first shaped my own path. If sharing my experiences helps current and future students imagine the possibilities ahead of them, then I am proud to contribute to the next chapter of AHLU’s story.

Elizabeth's art can be seen here.

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