Northern Art, Community and Environment Research (NACER) is a research group led by professors Timo Jokela, Mirja Hiltunen, Maria Huhmarniemi and Glen Coutts, in which visual art education and socially or environmentally engaged artistic approaches are researched and developed in a northern context. NACER reflects the changing socio-cultural circumstances in the age of ecological crises and urbanization and seeks to investigate future directions for socially effective and sensitive initiatives that use art pedagogy and arts-based methods to bring benefits to local circumstances and global concerns. Group members combine an understanding of visual art education as a social activity with a strong vision of the innovative potential of contemporary art. The group shares an interest in the development and application of Art-Based Action Research (ABAR). ABAR is an approach that aims to develop the professional methods and working approaches of the artist-teacher-researcher and artist-researcher in addition to seeking solutions to known problems and future visions in environments, communities, and educational contexts.