Artists may receive grants from the State and private foundations for the creation of art.
Each year, Arts Promotion Centre Finland TaikeOpens in a new window. distributes government transfers in the form of grants and subsidies to individual artists, working groups and communities for the creation of art.
The State's artist grants are intended for professional artists in different fields of art and for critics in different fields of art. Artist grants and working grants are intended to be used for artistic work.
Additionally, Arts Promotion Centre Finland grants project grants for individual projects as well as mobility grants for trips abroad by professional artists. Project and mobility grants are also granted to working groups.
Special and operational subsidies for communities are intended for associations, foundations, cooperatives, municipalities and companies.
A national arts council can grant personal artist grants for a period of 6 months, or 1, 3, and 5 years. Additionally, a national arts council can award so-called art professorship grants that span over a period of ten years.
The recipient of a State artist grant must resign from their primary salaried job for the grant period.
Artists can apply for State grants in the fields of architecture, cinema, literature, visual arts, illustrations and comics, media art, multidisciplinary art, design, music, theatre, performance and live art, circus art, art journalism, dance, light and sound art, photography and environmental art.
Over 20 specialist bodies work under the auspice of Arts Promotion Centre Finland Taike. Councils and boards make decisions concerning grants and awards and give expert statements.
Finland has numerous private foundations and funds that award grants each year. Some significant actors that award grants include the Finnish Cultural FoundationOpens in a new window., the Kone FoundationOpens in a new window. and the Swedish Cultural Foundation in FinlandOpens in a new window.. Additionally, municipalities can also award their own artist grants.
Grants have recently been awarded in most cases to artistic work, networking and working at a residence abroad or the presentation of a work. Grants awarded for artistic work are the most significant from a financial perspective.
An artist may apply grants from different parties for the same project, but granting parties must be informed about parallel applications.
Every granting party determines when it will accept applications. Some funds have a continuous application period,
Arts Promotion Centre Finland's application period for State artist grants ends at the end of March. and new application periods usually begin at the start of the following January. Applications for project grants for the upcoming year are submitted in the autumn. Artists may apply for mobility grants year-round. Applications and their related attachments are usually submitted electronically. The Arts Promotion Centre Finland Taike website provides up-to-date information on applications.
Artists are not required to pay taxes for grants and awards given out by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland Taike and its various bodies national arts councils, regional arts councils and grants boards. However, they will influence the taxation of grants received from private actors such as foundations, association and companies. Grants and awards from other instances than the State, municipality or other public organisation or the Nordic Council are income subject to taxes if the total sum of these and grants from public bodies exceed the annual total for a State artist grant.
For any working grants that cover a period of four months or more, the grant recipient must independently purchase pension and accident insurance policies from the Farmers' Social Insurance Institution MelaOpens in a new window. and pay a contribution for these, which is a certain percentage of the grant A pension contribution is included in a grant meaning it is taken into consideration in the size of a grant.