Anniina Suominen

Dr. Anniina Suominen works as a Professor of Art Pedagogy at Aalto university’s School of Art, Design and Architecture (ARTS) at the Department of Art and Media, where she also serves as the Head of Education and a Vice-Head of the Department. She earned her BA/MA from the University of Arts and Design Helsinki (1999) and her Ph.D. in Art Education from The Ohio State University (2003). Dr. Suominen lived and worked in the United States and in Finland. Her attachment to both of these places has shaped her work. Her long-term research and pedagogical interests relate to artistic ways and modes of knowing and being, particularly in research and related to issues of equity and ethics of education. Her research and teaching focus on advancing equity and social justice through the arts as well as sensuous epistemologies and pedagogies. The themes she works with are knowing/learning in relation to place and others (including diverse environments and & animals), democracy and diversity in education, curricula and pedagogy that are sensitive to gender diversity, immigrant rights and human rights, and visual/artistic knowing, learning, and research.

She leads the artpreneurship research team (Luova Lämpiö, 2024-2025 funded by Business Finland/Next GenrationEU. https://www.aalto.fi/fi/taiteen-ja-median-laitos/artpreneurship-tutkimusryhma) and has been involved in interdisciplinary development projects, such as Future Artpreneurship (2021-2022) and National Visions for Arts Education 2030. Some of her leadership and professional roles include serving in a World Council for InSEA 2023-2024 and in the Research Council of Finland’s Scientific Council for Social Sciences and Humanities 2025-2027. She represents Aalto ARTS the Observatory for Arts and Cultural Education (https://sites.uniarts.fi/en/web/taideobservatorio/about) that is a member of the European Network of Observatories in the Field of Arts and Cultural Education.