Principal Investigator: Sylvia Kind, Instructor & Atelierista, School of Education and Childhood Studies, Capilano U
Dr. Kind is an artist and internationally recognized atelierista and researcher who brings 17 years of visionary leadership in atelierista studies and practices. She has uniquely developed co-researching artistic practices with children in the early childhood studio and has a well-established practice of engaging in art as research. Her relevant experience includes serving as Co-I on three SSHRC Insight Grants, and PI on two Capilano University funded atelierista research projects. Impact on atelierista studies and practices in early childhood is evidenced by more than 38 published book chapters and peerreviewed articles in top ranking journals, one edited and one co-authored book, curated art exhibitions in six galleries and arts centers, frequent guest lectures in graduate courses in North America, UK, Europe, Australia. In 2026, Dr. Sylvia Kind has been awarded Christine Marmé Thompson Distinguished Research Award by the Center for the Study of Childhood Art.
Co-Investigator: Stephanie Springgay, Professor, School of the Arts, McMaster U
Dr. Springgay is a world-class research-creation artist and scholar. Her relevant experience includes serving as Principal Investigator on 3 SSHRC Insight Grants, 1 Partnership Development Grant, 2 Connection Grants, co-investigator on 1 SSHRC Insight Grant and collaborator on 2 SSHRC Insight Grants, and lead co-applicant on a Partnership Grant. She has published more than 40 top peer-reviewed articles and more than 30 book chapters. She has authored some of the most pivotal texts in the field of research-creation including her book Feltness: Research-Creation, Socially Engaged Art and Affective Pedagogies (2022; Duke University Press). This book won the 2023 University Art Association of Canada’s prestigious monograph book award.
Co-Investigator: Alex Berry, Assistant Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
Alex Berry is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. Her research is interested in feminist and creative methodologies for experimenting with the complexities of 21st century childhoods and for creating pedagogies alongside early childhood educators that answer to social and climate injustices.
Co-Investigator: Tatiana Zakharova-Goodman, Instructor & Atelierista, School of Education & Childhood Studies, Capilano U
Dr. Zakharova-Goodman is an emerging scholar whose research and teaching is leading innovative intersections of pedagogy, curriculum, arts, and research in early childhood education. She is an instructor and atelierista at CapU, where her research focuses on artistic studio practice and on curricular and pedagogical possibilities of interdisciplinary collaborations, including hyflex modalities in the delivery of studio-based curricular courses. In her doctoral research, she developed a critical framework for thinking/doing outdoor play spaces in early childhood education.