Tuuli Lähdesmäki, PhD in Art History (2007) and DSocSc in Sociology (2014), is a professor of art history at the University of Jyväskylä (JYU). She has been awarded the title of docent in art history at JYU, in area and cultural studies at the University of Helsinki, and in critical heritage studies at the University of Turku.
Lähdesmäki has led and participated in several externally funded research projects. From 2015 to 2020, she led the ERC Starting Grant project EUROHERIT, which explored EU heritage policies with a focus on the European Heritage Label and the construction of European identity and the European dimension of cultural heritage. She also led the Research Council of Finland’s Postdoctoral Research Project (ID‑ECC, 2011–2013) and a Council Fellow Project (EUCHE, 2014–2019), both of which examined EU cultural and identity politics and the politics of belonging, the first through the European Capital of Culture initiative and the latter through EU heritage initiatives and awards. In addition, she led a Council Research Project (HERIDI, 2020–2024), which investigated heritage diplomacy in the EU’s external cultural relations. Lähdesmäki was one of three principal investigators in JYU’s research‑profiling area Crises Redefined: Historical Continuity and Societal Change (CRISES, 2017–2020), leading its focus area on Displacement and Belonging. The profiling initiative was also funded by the Research Council of Finland.
Lähdesmäki has led JYU’s consortium partnerships in several projects funded by the EU’s Horizon Programme. These include the DIALLS project (H2020, 2018–2021), which examined dialogue and argumentation in cultural literacy learning in Europe in formal education for children and young people; the ELABCHROM project (HE/WIDERA, 2023–2025), which sought to advance research excellence—particularly critical heritage scholarship—within the consortium; and the REBOOT project (HE, 2023–2026), which explored the competitiveness of the European film industry. Lähdesmäki is the local contact for the Cultural Heritage Lab, part of the FORTHEM research alliance that promotes transnational higher education and mobility under the Erasmus+ programme. She has also supervised the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship project FIN‑EST CONNECTION (2024–2026).
Lähdesmäki has worked as a visiting fellow or professor at the University of Antwerp, the University of Cambridge, the University of Limerick, the University of Pécs, the European University Institute, and Fulda University of Applied Sciences. She has conducted several teaching visits abroad, including Erasmus teaching visits to the University of Utrecht, the University of Hamburg, the Université Catholique de l’Ouest, and the University of Vienna.
Lähdesmäki’s key research interests include:
