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Finnish Arts and Culture Agency decides on appropriations among forms of support

The Finnish Arts and Culture Agency has decided on the distribution of government grant appropriations among forms of support. Total funding has been cut by 200,000 euros, and efforts have been made to balance the effects across the different forms of support. The agency also decided to award state prizes and regional art prizes in 2026, which will affect the amount of government grants allocated. More support will be allocated to artists than in 2025.
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According to the decision made by Parliament in December, the total appropriation for the promotion of the arts is 18.9 million euros, which is 200,000 euros less than in 2025. Of this, 13.4 million euros will be awarded as general grants for the arts, which is approximately 400,000 euros less than in 2025.

Project grants for the arts and regional grants will not be cut. A total of 4.8 million euros will be awarded to artists and working groups. In addition, the appropriation will be used for internationalisation grants for the arts and state prizes. A total of 200,000 euros has been reserved for state prizes, while in 2025 they were not awarded at all for cost-cutting reasons.

The total allocation for cultural inclusion and accessibility is 7.1 million euros, which is the same as in 2025. There will be a small cut to festival grants, grants for cultural magazines and online publications, and general grants for culture. There will be a small increase to project grants for culture covered by the allocation. In addition, reserves will be retained for regionally targeted art prizes and for the needs of government grants for the rest of the year.

“We have tried to minimise the changes to appropriations among different forms of support. In the previous two years, there have been significant cuts to funding, and now the aim is to maintain a more stable situation. It is also important that approximately 6 percent more funding is now allocated directly to artists than last year,” says Henri Terho, Director of the Arts and Culture Funding Department.

Distribution of appropriations among forms of support in 2026 (amount in 2025)

  • General grants for the arts: EUR 13 407 000 (13 787 000)
  • Internationalisation grants for the arts: EUR 500 000 (500 000)
  • Project grants for the arts: EUR 2 633 000 (2 600 000)
  • Regional grants: EUR 2 200 000 (2 200 000)
  • State prizes and regional arts prizes: EUR 300 000 (40 000)
  • General grants for festivals: EUR 3 947 000 (4 017 000)
  • General grants for cultural magazines and online publications: EUR 650 000 (680 000)
  • General grants for culture: EUR 1 550 000 (1 762 000)
  • Project grants for culture: EUR 650 000 (638 000)

Applicants will be notified of decisions on general grants for the arts and general grants for culture no later than 16 February. Decisions on other grants for communities and project grants for the arts will be completed in mid-March according to the schedules in the calls for applications. The call for applications for regional grants will open on 11 February.

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