Call for application

Call for applications 2024: Project grants for specific artforms

Project grants are intended for individual projects by professional artists to be implemented in 2025–2026.

Application period

Decisions

Applicants will be notified of the decision by 25 March 2025.

For what purpose

These grants are intended for individual projects by professional artists and art journalists to be implemented in 2025–2026.

For whom

These grants are intended for professional artists or working groups formed by them. Private traders (“toiminimi”) may also apply.

Who decides

Grant decisions are made by national arts councils based on proposals by special advisors.

About applying

The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) requires that applicants familiarise themselves with the call for applications before filling in the application.

Application period

Begins: 1.11.2024 at 8:00

Ends: 28.11.2024 at 16:00

The deadline for submitting applications is 16:00 (4:00pm) on the last day of the application period. This is the absolute deadline by which time Taike must receive the application.

Applications should be submitted online during the application period.

Applicants are required to familiarise themselves with the call for applications before filling in the application.

Intended recipients

These grants are intended for professional artists and art journalists, as well as for working groups formed by them. Private traders (“toiminimi”) may also apply.

A professional artist is one who creates, performs or interprets art as their primary or secondary occupation. A professional artist has an education in a specific field of the arts or otherwise acquired professional expertise in the arts.

Who decides

Grant decisions are made by national arts councils based on presentations by special advisors.

Purpose

Project grants are intended for individual projects by professional artists and art journalists to be implemented in 2025–2026.

You can apply for a project grant with one application only, either as a private individual or as the contact person for a working group. You may apply for one artform only. If you submit more than one application, only the newest one will be evaluated.

In addition to one personal application, you can also be included in another application as a member of a working group.

Select the artform that your project most closely involves.

Project grants may be used to cover, for example:

  • material costs
  • production costs
  • working costs connected to the project
  • travel costs.

Project grants are not awarded for:

  • studies, thesis or related costs related to a vocational arts degree or a lower or higher university degree
  • amateur / hobby-based projects
  • project grants for literature are not awarded for non-fiction literature.

The minimum amount of each project grant is 2500 euros. The same application can be used to apply for a grant to cover both costs and artistic work.

The basis for the amount of grants awarded to cover artistic work is 2250 euros/month. You can apply for a grant to cover artistic work for a maximum of three months, which amounts to 6750 euros per person.

Previously awarded project grants are listed on the Taike website under Awarded Grants and Subsidies.

Applying as a working group

  • The application should be made by the contact person for the working group. The names of the other members of the working group should be included in the application.
  • The contact person should include with the application a short description of the artistic activities of each member of the working group.
  • Each member of the working group is responsible for how the grant funds are spent and for providing clarification. The contact person for the working group is responsible for submitting the clarification by the deadline.

Decision-making criteria

The awarding of grants is based on an evaluation, comparison and overall assessment of applications. When evaluating applications, the following three criteria are used together with additional questions, not all of which need to be fulfilled. There is no weighting in the decision-making criteria.

Equality and non-discrimination are taken into account in the decision-making process, as are the regional distribution and language of applicants and the amount of available funding. 

When evaluating applications, the cultural and linguistic diversity of applicants is taken into consideration. All grants are discretionary and there is no automatic right to them, even if all the criteria are fulfilled.

Evaluation criteria 1. Previous artistic merits of the applicant

  • Is the applicant a professional? Are the members of the working group professionals?
  • What are the merits of the applicant’s previous artistic works?
  • How noteworthy is the applicant in their field of the arts?

Evaluation criteria 2. Quality and impact of the project                                                         

  • Is the project plan interesting, clear and consistent?
  • Is the artistic content of high quality?
  • How does the project encourage an understanding of or discussion about art?
  • What is the impact of the project regionally, nationally or internationally?
  • What kinds of ideas and operating models does the project offer to the field of the arts, artists and audiences?
  • What kinds of cooperation partners does the project have?
  • How realistic is the project in terms of implementation?

Evaluation criteria 3. Project financing

  • How realistic is the project’s budget?
  • Is the amount that has been applied for in proportion to the contents and scope of the project?
  • Has other funding been confirmed for the project?

General terms and conditions

  • Grants awarded by Taike and other parties are taken into consideration when awarding grants.
  • Grant recipients must use the grant during 2025–2026. 
  • Grant recipients may not transfer personal grant funds or those of a working group to the account of a company or community.
  • Grants are awarded on condition that Parliament allocates the required appropriations in its annual State budget.
  • You can apply for a project grant with one application only, either as a private individual or as the contact person for a working group. If you submit more than one application, only the newest one will be evaluated.
  • Grant recipients must submit written clarification of how the grant was used at the end of the grant period.

If the grant is awarded for a period of at least four months, you must take out pension insurance in accordance with the Farmers’ Pension Act (MYEL), which also covers grant recipients. The insurance obligation also applies to those working on a grant as a member of a working group. The insurance must be applied for within three months of payment of the grant. Insurance applications should be submitted to the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela. Further information can be found on the Mela website.

What to include with your application

  • Mandatory for all applicants: CV of the artist or combined CV for the members of a working group.
  • Applications related to works in the visual arts, design, illustrations and comics, or photographic art must also include 3 to 5 images of the artist’s works or a similar work sample as a single pdf file, including details about the name, technique, size and year of each work.
  • For videos (for example, for cinema or media art), a link to the publishing platform with any passwords should be included. Remember to check the link to make sure it works.
  • The maximum file size for each attachment is 4 MB.

In addition, you may also include two more attachments that are relevant to your application. The file names should describe the content.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that attachments contain the information required in the call for applications.

Grounds for disqualification

  • If the application arrives after the application deadline. Applications must be received by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland by 16:00 (4:00pm) on the last day of the application period.
  • If the application is incomplete.
  • If the applicant has not submitted written clarification of previously awarded grants before the given deadline.

Grant decisions are subject to the Act (657/2012) and statute (727/2012) on Taiteen edistämiskeskus (only in Finnish); Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001); and the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003). The Arts Promotion Centre Finland monitors the use of grants and is entitled if necessary to review the finances and activities of the recipient.

How to apply

LOG IN AND FILL IN THE APPLICATION ONLINE (USER INTERFACE IN FINNISH)

To log in you will need eBanking identifiers, a mobile certificate or an electronic ID card.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING ONLINE SERVICES

If you are unable to use our online services, please contact Taike’s customer service.

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

Notification of decision

All applicants will be notified of the decision in writing by 25 March 2025. Applicants will be informed by e-mail when the decision can be accessed from our online services. If you do not receive the e-mail to your inbox, remember to check also your junk mail folder. Applicants are responsible for checking their e-mail messages on the address supplied in the application.

Publicity of applications

Applications submitted to Taike are public documents, about which everyone is entitled to receive information according to Finnish law (Act on the Openness of Government Activities 621/1999). For example, the media can request to view applications. Taike does not disclose confidential information. Matters related to a person's privacy, for example contact information and matters related to health and financial situation, are always confidential. Work plans are also confidential to the extent that they contain information considered to be business secrets, such as artistic ideas.

Taike submits information about all grant decisions for publication on the tutkiavustuksia.fi website (Act on Discretionary Government Grants 688/2001 and Government Decree 1394/2022). Applicants can choose when applying whether they consent to the publication of the decision on the Taike website. The submission of decision information to the Tutkiavustuksia.fi service cannot be refused, however, even if the applicant has not given consent to the publication of their name on the Taike website.

Further information

Customer service, t. 0295 330 700, [email protected]