artist statement
Tiina Kukkonen is a Finnish-Canadian visual artist and Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Education (Queen’s University) based in Kingston, Ontario. Originally from Hudson, Quebec, Tiina studied Fine Arts at Dawson College and Concordia University in Montreal. She experiments with different media but focuses primarily on needle felting as an art form. Her approach to felting resembles painting in that colours are layered to achieve different visual effects. She has been a member of the Kingston Fibre Artists since 2021 and routinely exhibits her work in the community.
Tiina has taught visual arts to learners of all ages in community and school environments. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Queen's University, where she currently teaches visual arts education to aspiring teachers. As an arts educator, she aims to foster curiosity, creativity, and hands-on skills in her students through a balance of structured and playful art-making experiences.
Through her research, Tiina is committed to enhancing the fields of arts education and arts-based
research. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals, including Studies in Art Education, Arts Education Policy Review, and the International Journal of Art & Design Education. She has worked with the Canadian Network for Arts and Learning, the English Language Arts Network, and the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning to support various regional, national, and international arts education research initiatives.
