News

Calls for applications for artist grants and regional grants were open in March 2025. These grant decisions will be sent to applicants in the order that the arts councils make their decisions.

The government proposal on legislation on the reform of the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture has been approved today by Parliament. According to the draft legislation, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) will merge to form the Arts and Culture Agency Finland at the beginning of 2026. At the same time, the peer review structure will change.

Funding for communities awarded by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) can be applied for from 1 October to 4 November 2025. Several changes have been made this year, including to the names of the calls for applications. New forms of support have been introduced, while others have been discontinued. The application period for project grants intended for natural persons is 5 November to 2 December 2025. Taike will publish all calls for applications this autumn on the Applyforgrants.fi service at the end of September.

The new strategic overview outlines the themes and measures through which internationalisation is reflected in Taike’s operations.

The organisational structure of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) will be renewed as of 1 August 2025. The aim is to respond more strongly to the tasks defined in Taike’s strategy guidelines and legislation. The current area of responsibility for arts promotion will be divided into two units: Arts and Culture Funding, and Arts and Culture Networks.

The theme of the latest Arts and Culture Barometer was funding and support for artistic work. The results of the barometer indicate uncertainties related to funding the work of professional artists. According to the respondents, income generation for artists is often fragmented among several different sources, and funding for artistic work does not correspond to actual needs. As changes and cuts are being made simultaneously to several factors related to funding and income levels, the impacts on making art and the livelihoods of artists can be profound and unpredictable, according to the results of the barometer.

Work on preparing the legal amendments concerning the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and its arts councils is progressing on the basis of the consultation round that concluded in January. Taike will begin internal preparations regarding the restructuring of its arts council during March. The opinions submitted on the draft legislation raised concerns related to the autonomy of the arts, peer reviews and regional equality. These are also key issues to be addressed from Taike’s perspective.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture appointed an Advisory Board for the Creative Economy on 3 December 2024 with the aim of promoting the growth and internationalisation of Finland’s creative industries. The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) is represented on the Advisory Board by Director Kaisa Rönkkö (Member), Head of Arts Support Henri Terho (Personal Deputy Member) and Internationalisation Expert Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber (Member of Secretariat).

Regional grants and artist grants can be applied for from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) in March-April. The grant period for regional grants has changed: the period during which they can be used will start in July 2025.

Booster is a new peer group model to support mental wellbeing that has been developed as part of the Mental Health Toolkit project. It is intended to promote the work ability of self-employed people, freelancers, grant recipients and sole proprietors in the arts, culture and events sectors.

The Central Arts Council has submitted its opinion on the government proposal regarding the Education and Culture Administration 2030 reform project, which plans to merge government agencies. According to the draft legislation, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) would merge to form the Culture Agency of Finland (Kulttuurivirasto) at the beginning of 2026. At the same time, the structure of the arts councils would change.

The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) has awarded 13.8 million euros in operational subsidies for specific artforms to art communities in 2025. Altogether 193 art communities throughout Finland have been awarded an operational subsidy. Due to the budget situation and Taike’s strategic priorities, there have been more changes affecting recipients and amounts in the decisions than in previous years.