The notion of 'academic resilience' has been established to contextualise the term for higher education research and practice, concerned with the everyday challenges of academic life as experienced by the majority of students. In the largest disruption to education systems in human history, the pandemic is the most recent catalyst for attention to resilience strategies. Calls for addressing resilience within curriculum at a subject level have been increasing, with a shift in emphasis from reliance on student support services to 'whole university' approaches to student wellbeing. This thematic literature review commences from here interested the potential pedagogical value of academic resilience for art and design education. Four thematics are established to explore this: academic resilience and creative arts learning; contestation and critique; meaningfulness; and pedagogical responses. The politics and theory of resilience highlight the need for critical approaches that reframe conceptualisations for higher education. This review revealed the complexities of a concept of academic resilience for creative arts learning. The instability of the subject matter and the uncertainties of the creative process as well as the stabilising effects of being involved in artistic production and meaning making suggest a distinctive, discipline specific interpretation is useful. The findings provide a basis for influencing further research and curriculum development.