Support for artistic creativity
The objectives of cultural policy in Finland relate to creativity, cultural diversity and equity. One of the main policy objectives is to provide favorable conditions for the work of artists and other creative workers through financing and arts and artists’ policy.
The system of arts councils and its specific art form councils is responsible for implementing arts and artists' policies in Finland. It is also the provider of the most important support system for artistic creativity from the point of view of autonomy of the arts, the peer group evaluation mechanisms, for deciding grants for artists and artist-led projects.
The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) is the Finnish expert and service agency for promoting the arts. Taike replaced the former Arts Council of Finland and its activities in 2013. Taike comprises a Central Arts Council, national arts councils (10 in 2013-2014), regional arts councils (13 in 2014) and separate boards. It operates under the supervision of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and is funded from the state art budget. Taike implements the art and culture policies of the Ministry of Education and Culture within the framework of its duties and under the supervision of the ministry. The Central Arts Council serves as an advisory body to the Ministry of Education and Culture in policymaking regarding the arts.
According to the strategy of Taike, the centre is:
- the key funding agency for the arts and artistic work, as well as an advocate of public support for the arts
- a promoter of the intrinsic value and autonomy of the arts
- an expert and active and strong influence in art and artist policies
- a developer of new cooperation, funding and operating models for the arts and a networking organisation.
Taike promotes the livelihood and working conditions of artists and therefore the availability and accessibility of the arts, the internationalisation of the arts, the diversity of the arts and intercultural dialogue and the status and visibility of the arts in society and the rights of citizens to art and culture.
The operations of Taike comprise support for artistic activities in the form of awarding grants and subsidies, as well as development and project activities that are implemented primarily by regional artists employed throughout Finland. These two fields of operation constitute arts promotion.
Taike together with its arts councils and boards awards grants to professional artists and subsidies to communities in the field of the arts. The elected bodies working in connection with Taike are art policy experts that perform peer reviews of the applications submitted to Taike.
Taike grants national state grants and subsidies and regional grants and subsidies. The former include artist grants (from 0.5 to 10 years), projects grants, travel grants, grants for writers and translators, public display grants, grants for projects supporting multiculturalism, artist-in-residence grants, cultural well-being subsidies and operational grants for communities, including NGOs. Regional grants include working and project grants, cultural wellbeing subsidies and support for communities, and also include a special grant for children’s culture.
Each year Taike receives 14,000 applications on which it makes decisions. Altogether, 250 peer reviewers are involved in the decision-making process.
Taike's grants and subsidies aim at strengthening the opportunities for practicing the arts professionally.
According to its strategy, Taike wants to developed its direct artist grants to respond to the needs of professional artists and communities of free artists. Taike also aims at creating established forms of arts promotion cooperation covering the entire public administration system. With its cooperation partners, Taike wants to ensure the prerequisites for practicing the arts professionally, as well as establish social security and pensions system for artists that is sustainable and equal to that of other professions.
The Arts Promotion Centre Finland publishes an annual statistical report on grant applicants and recipients. Taike evaluates the implementation of its strategic targets annually in connection with its annual report and if necessary reviews its targets on the basis of this evaluation.
The funds used for arts promotion come from two sources. Statutory support in the form of state artist grants and grants for writers and translators (i.e. library grants) is paid from the state budget. Other discretionary support is paid from lottery funds, which account for over 60 percent of the funds allocated for arts promotion.
Funding and support for artists by the Arts promotion Centre Finland (www.taike.fi) in 2014:
- The total arts and culture budget in Finland was 456.1 million € in 2014. Of this, Taike support (arts promotion total) was 7.7%. Despite of the current difficult financial situation, the amount of funding for artistic creativity has not decreased in the state budget.
- In 2014 Taike supported artistic activities through grants, subsidies and awards amounting to 32.4 million euros (21.3. million euros was went to direct support for artists). This amount was 0.3 percent or approximately 100,000 euros more than in the previous year.
- A total of 2.8 million euros was spent on development and project activities. This is approximately the same amount as in the previous year.
- Altogether 35.2 million euros was spent on arts promotion in 2014. Support awarded on the basis of applications accounted for 91 percent of this amount, representing an increase of 0.5 percent over the previous year.
See report in http://www.taike.fi/en/publications