TIINA KUKKONEN
TIINA KUKKONEN
Artist - Researcher - Educator
ABOUT
Dr. Tiina Kukkonen is a visual artist and Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Education at Queen's University in Kingston, ON. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Queen's, as well as a M.A. in Child Studies and a B.F.A./B.Ed. in Art Education from Concordia University in Montreal (QC). She has contributed research in the areas of early childhood development through art, rural arts education, arts education partnerships, and arts-based research. She has a keen interest in arts-based knowledge translation as a way to communicate research knowledge and engage diverse audiences.
Tiina has taught visual arts in various community and school environments in Quebec and Ontario. Formally trained in Fine Arts, she experiments with many different media but focuses primarily on needle felting as an art form.
Tiina is a member of the Kingston Fibre Artists (https://kingstonfibreartists.ca/) and the Arts Infusion Committee at Queen's University (https://www.educarts.ca). She currently serves on the executive committee of the Canadian Society for Education through Art (CSEA) as the Director of Awards.
"Nature is not something that can be seen with the eye alone - it lies within the soul, in pictures seen by the inner eye."
Edvard Munch
RESEARCH
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Kukkonen, T. (2022). Conceptualizing intermediary organizations in arts education through a cross sector review of the literature. Studies in Art Education, 63(2), 152-168. doi: 10.1080/00393541.2022.2050987
Kukkonen, T. (2021). Supporting youth mental health in and through the arts: An evidence base and guide for teaching artists. Prepared for the English Language Arts Network. https://www.quebec-elan.org/2021/10/25/39884/
Kukkonen, T. (2020). An ecological model of artist-school partnerships for policy makers and practitioners. Arts Education Policy Review, 12(2), 43-54. doi: 10.1080/10632913.2019.1576150
Kukkonen, T., Bolden, B., & Chang-Kredl, S. (2020). Creative collaboration in young children's playful group drawing. Journal of Creative Behavior, 54(4), 897-911.
Kukkonen, T., & Cooper, A. (2019). An arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) planning framework for researchers. Evidence & Policy, 15(2), 293-311. doi: 10.1332/174426417X15006249072134
Kukkonen, T., & Bolden, B. (2018). Teaching lives: An arts-informed exploration of teacher experience. Art/Research International, 3(2), 150-171.
Kukkonen, T., & Chang-Kredl, S. (2018). Drawing as social play: Shared meaning-making in young children’s collective drawing activities. The International Journal of Art and Design Education, 37(1), 74-87. doi: 10.1111/jade.12116
RESEARCH PROJECTS
Primary Investigator (current)
Exploring the Role of Local Artists and Art Forms in Rural Schools and Communities
Funded by: SSHRC Institutional Grant (Queen's University)
Research Associate (current)
Arts for Transformative Education
Lead Researcher: Dr. Benjamin Bolden, UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning at Queen's University
Funded by: The Canadian Commission for UNESCO, carried out in collaboration with the UNESCO Associated Schools Network (ASPnet)
Artist-Researcher (past)
Creative Expressions of Research
Faculty of Education, Queen's University
Co-Evaluator (past)
Building a Digital Future for Arts and Learning in Canada
Canadian Network for Arts & Learning
Funded by: Canada Council for the Arts
Research & Evaluation Consultant (past)
Arts Education Initiatives
English Language Arts Network
Link: https://www.quebec-elan.org/art-ed/
Research Associate & Co-Author (past)
Transformative Action on Arts Education: Re-invigorating the Seoul Agenda
The Canadian Network for Arts & Learning, The Canadian Commission for UNESCO, and the UNESCO Chair in Arts & Learning
Link: http://unesco.ca/~/media/unesco/unesco/position%20paper.pdf
Project Manager (past)
Building Creative Capacity through Assessment for Learning in the Arts
Lead researcher: Dr. Benjamin Bolden, Queen's University
Funded by: SSHRC
Link: http://benjaminbolden.ca/aflia/
Research Associate (past)
Eduarts Mapping Project
Canadian Network For Arts & Learning
Funded by: The Ontario Trillium Foundation
SELECT PRESENTATIONS
Kukkonen, T. (2022, July). Envisioning the future of artistic interventions: From research to action. Presentation at the Artistic Interventions in Educational and Social Contexts Symposium, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany.
Kukkonen, T. (2021, March). Supporting rural arts education in Ontario and Quebec: A multi-case
study of intermediary organizations. Presentation at the National Congress on Rural Education in Canada, hosted virtually through the University of Saskatchewan, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Kukkonen, T., & Bolden, B. (2019, July). Enhancing creativity in the arts classroom through assessment for learning. Presentation at the International Society for Education through Art world congress, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Kukkonen, T. (2018, May). Connecting the dots: A cross-case exploration of arts partnership brokering in rural Canada. Presentation at the graduate symposium of the Canadian Society for Education through Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Kukkonen, T., & Cooper, A. (2017, October). Building bridges through the Arts: An arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) planning framework for researchers. Paper presentation at the national conference of the Canadian Network for Arts and Learning, Ottawa, Ontario.
RURAL ARTS INTERMEDIARIES
A Game of Partnership Brokering
As part of my doctoral research, I conducted a multiple case study of intermediary organizations that support rural artists-in-schools partnerships. After collecting data from five organizations, I wanted to find a creative and playful method of a) unearthing new themes and ideas in the data analysis process, and b) making the findings of the study more accessible to audiences outside of academia, particularly those with a vested interest in rural arts education and arts education partnerships. Thus, I opted for a hybrid approach where play and art converge in the analysis and presentation of research. Through the process of playing and arting with my data, I developed a research-informed board game entitled, “Rural Arts Intermediaries: A Game of Partnership Brokering.” Each player in the game (5 total) represents one intermediary organization. The purpose of the game is to collect enough resources and partners to be able to implement a successful artist-in-residence project in a rural school.
THE GAME
You can view the full game here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ANiiGzBGaxJABlLV_YmFCJIww9lqSxQp?usp=sharing
TEACHING
WORKSHOPS
Tiina facilitates a variety of visual arts workshops. Past workshops include:
Block printing
Needle felting
Card-making
Painting & Drawing
UNIVERSITY
Tiina has been an instructor, teaching assistant, and guest lecturer at the undergraduate level. She has taught courses in visual arts for teacher candidates at Queen's University and has supervised ECE teacher candidates in their practicum placements.
K-12
Tiina has taught visual arts to children and teens in both community and school environments. She has worked full-time as a high school arts teacher and has held numerous contract positions as an arts instructor.
NEWS & EVENTS
I do my best to keep this updated!
WEBCAST FOR KTDRR
I'll be giving a free webcast in November 13th for the Centre on Knowledge Translation for Disability & Rehabilitation Research (KTDRR), focusing on arts-based knowledge translation.
Registration is free through the website: https://ktdrr.org/training/webcasts/webcast88/index.html
NEW POSITION STARTING JULY 2023
As of July 1, 2023, I will be taking on a new role as Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Education at Queen's University (so exciting!). You can read more about my new appointment here: https://educ.queensu.ca/vision-accessible-arts-education
