Rate My Professor Bill Platz

Dr Bill Platz is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Drawing in the Queensland College of Art and Design at Griffith University, where he has been a member of the community since 2009. An American-Australian artist, teacher, and researcher, he specializes in fine art with a focus on drawing. Platz holds a PhD in Fine Art from Griffith University, along with prior education in New York including a BFA from Pratt Institute. His career at Griffith includes roles such as Lecturer in Fine Art, convenor of the Studio Foundations course, and Program Director for Fine Art. He teaches undergraduate courses like Drawing Foundations and Drawing and the Body, emphasizing innovative studio pedagogies that integrate virtual learning environments, peer assessment, and personal learning platforms such as PebblePad to foster critical reflection and experimental creativity.

Platz's research interests center on drawing practices, art education foundations, studio pedagogies, and life drawing techniques, including explorations of magic lanterns, phantasmagoria, and puppetry in artistic processes. Key publications include 'Practice Learning and Life Drawing Puppets' in the International Journal of Education & the Arts (2025), 'Drawing ex-studio: An eccentric case for correspondence courses' (2022), and contributions to Advancing Student Experience in the Art and Design Curriculum (Routledge, forthcoming). He served as guest editor for Studio Research Issue 4 (2016). His teaching innovations, particularly online studio experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown, earned the 2023 Griffith University Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the 2024 Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, recognizing his ability to maintain high-quality creative pedagogy in virtual spaces. As a practicing artist, Platz has delivered public workshops such as egg tempera masterclasses, lithography demonstrations, and drawing sessions at institutions including Queensland Art Gallery and Griffith University Art Museum, and received the 2024 Packer's Prize at the Brisbane Portrait Prize. His work has influenced art education through popular Zoom art classes and exhibitions in national portrait prizes.