Toward Place-Specific and Situational Arctic Visual Culture Learning in Finnish Art Teacher Education

Overview & Synopsis

In this article, we tackle critical and socially engaged issues on Arctic visual culture (AVC) education in Finland, which are, in this article, considered culturally sensitive topics in Finnish art education. The article emerges from research interests in (1) place-specific issues in art teacher education, as they relate to the critical study of AVC, and (2) Arctic art and Sámi art and craft, the current development and discussion in Finnish contexts, and their importance to art teacher education. Our approach is drawn from the field of Finnish art education and previous knowledge of culturally sensitive, socially engaged art education approaches practiced in two Finnish universities. Through this collaboration, we further develop research and practices related to the topic. The context of the collaboration is a 3-year multidisciplinary and nationwide project, "Arctic Reformative and Exploratory Teaching Profession," funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.