Appropriations for government grants promoting the arts and culture to decrease in 2026

According to the decision by Parliament, the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency has been allocated 26,361,000 euros for the awarding of government grants promoting the arts and culture. The appropriation is divided between government grants for the promotion of the arts and government grants for the promotion of cultural inclusion and accessibility, cultural wellbeing and cultural diversity. 

The appropriation for the promotion of the arts for 2026 is 18,942,000 euros, representing a cut of 200,000 euros compared to the previous year. The appropriation for the promotion of the arts will be used to pay for general grants for art communities, internationalisation grants, project grants for specific artforms and regional grants. In addition, the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency will prepare to cover the costs of state prizes with this appropriation. In 2025, state prizes were not awarded for cost-cutting reasons.

“The budget for government grants is decreasing for the third year in a row. Although the cuts are smaller than before, they require more careful consideration from the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency. Even in this situation, we are trying to ensure sufficient predictability for funding,” says Henri Terho, Head of Arts and Culture Funding.

The appropriation for cultural inclusion remains at last year's level at 7,097,000 euros. However, the appropriation includes 500,000 euros of separately unallocated appropriations, the purpose of which will be specified in early 2026. Currently under consideration are general grants for culture, project grants for culture, general grants for festivals, and general grants for cultural magazines and online publications.

The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency will make a detailed internal budget decision on the distribution of government grant appropriations among different forms of support by the end of January.

In the 2026 budget, a total of 19,443,000 euros has been allocated for artist grants, library grants for writers and translators, and public display grants for visual artists, which is 439,000 euros more than last year. The increase is due to the index adjustment for artist grants.

The amount of each artist grant will be 2,249 euros per month as of the beginning of 2026. The level of artist grants is tied to wage increases in accordance with the Civil Service Collective Agreement. Artist grants, library grants and public display grants are tax exempt for recipients, but they are subject to a statutory pension insurance contribution.

Further information:
Henri Terho, Head of Arts and Culture Funding, [email protected], t. +358 295 249 006