I’m currently working as the Head of General Cultural Services and Director of Cultural Centre Valve in the City of Oulu, Finland. I’m one of the founders of ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival (Kuopio, Finland) and worked as the artistic director – senior producer of ANTI between 2002-2021. Between 2014 -2016 I worked as the first Arts Programme Manager of Dance House Helsinki.
I’m an artist, curator and researcher working in the fields of performance, dance, live and contemporary art. I have created numerous performances and site-specific projects in various sites, theatre and gallery spaces since 1997. In my works, I have a strong focus on interdisciplinary collaboration with artists from various backgrounds and my work often investigates audience relationships and participation.
I have worked in the fields of art and culture as a civil servant, choreographer, curator, programmer, performer, writer, journalist and regional artist. I graduated from European Dance Development Center in Arhem, the Netherlands, in 1997, and have worked as a freelance artist since 2004. In 2006, I was awarded the State Prize for the Arts. I hold an MA in Cultural Policy and PhD in Cultural Policy and Art Education from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, where I’m also postdoc researcher.
In my latest works, I have been exploring possibilities of creating concepts that are by nature transforming, bound to time and place and enable me to create situations in which I can consider concepts of time, place, physicality, momentarity and the everyday. The passing of time and the commonplace mutation of the body are central elements in my work. I have created numerous works which have been performed at the most recognized Finnish contemporary performance and dance festivals and i.e. in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.
At the moment I’m collaborating with German artist duo deufert&plischke and photographer Pekka Mäkinen in a process based exploration Stoffwechsel which currently finds its form as an exhibition and performance.

Links:

http://firstindigoandlifestyle.com/2015/01/28/artist-spotlight-johanna-tuukkanen-the-outstanding-performer/

Elettyä elämää 
– Koreografi ja kuraattori Johanna Tuukkanen osaa yhdistää taiteen ja arjen

Selected articles