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Dr. Minerva Inwald, the UNSW Judith Neilson Post-Doctoral Fellow of Contemporary Art, will soon embark on a new adventure as an Assistant Lecturer in Chinese History at the University of Melbourne, starting in January 2025.

Looking back on her time at UNSW, Dr. Inwald shared, “The Judith Neilson Post-Doctoral Fellowship offered the time and intellectual space to find my own voice as a researcher and teacher within a supportive environment that encouraged interdisciplinary experimentation and rigorous scholarly inquiry.” She also reflected, “Throughout my time in the role, Professor Paul Gladston, UNSW Judith Neilson Chair of Contemporary Art, provided crucial mentorship, generously offering strategic advice on how to build my academic profile, as well as leveraging his own international networks to support my research in China.”

During her tenure at UNSW, Dr. Inwald published her first peer-reviewed journal articles: “”, published in Modern China, and  published in the Journal of Design History. The fellowship also allowed Dr. Inwald to develop her PhD thesis into her first academic monograph, tentatively titled “Experts and Amateurs: Creating Artists in Mao’s China”, which is now under contract with a US-based press.

A champion of interdisciplinary collaboration, Minerva established a new collaborative research platform, coordinating and hosting the ‘Talks in Chinese Humanities’ lecture series with the China Studies Centre and Discipline of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney. She also held significant service roles in the Asian Studies Community, taking on the role of Secretary of the Asian Studies Association of Australia and Seminars Officer for the Australian Society for Asian Humanities. In 2022, Dr. Inwald coordinated the organization of the “Chinese Cultures, Translation and Contemporaneity: Literature – Cinema – Performance – the Visual Arts” online conference, held in collaboration with Tsinghua University, Beijing.

Between 2021 and 2024, Dr. Inwald convened the course East Asian Contemporary Art in the School of Art & Design. She integrated innovative new learning activities into the course, including the ‘Skills Workshop’ program and object-based learning workshops. For the past three years, student surveys have reported 100% satisfaction with the course, reflecting her skill in creating a compelling and rigorous learning experience that resonates with students.

Professor Paul Gladston remarked, “Minerva’s contributions to our team have been exceptional. Her dedication and collaborative efforts have left a lasting impact.”

As we bid farewell to Dr. Inwald, we are excited to announce that the Judith Neilson Chair will soon be seeking a new post-doctoral fellow, which reaffirms our commitment to supporting emerging scholars and advancing contemporary art research at UNSW.

We wish Minerva every success in her new role at the University of Melbourne and look forward to seeing her continued achievements.