Information about artist grants
More than 600 artists work on artist grants each year.
Amount of grant per month
Duration of grant periods
The number and duration of grants varies according to artform. The distribution of grants among all the artforms is decided by Taike. Three-year and five-year artist grants are awarded primarily to professional artists who have distinguished themselves within their field. One-year and half-year grants are also awarded to young artists and those who are at the start of their artistic careers.
Five-year artist grants may also be awarded in the form of an Artist Professor grant, in which case the recipient is entitled to use the title of Artist Professor for the duration of the grant period.
Calls for applications for artist grants are announced in spring, and the grant period begins the following year. Half-year artist grants may begin on either 1 January or 1 July. Grant recipients who prefer to begin their grant period on 1 July must contact Taike separately.
Amount of artist grants
The amount of state artist grant is 2 153.23 euros per month (as of 1 March 2024, the amount of monthly artist grants is 2 196.30 euros per month. These grants are tax-free. Taike confirms the amount of artist grants on an annual basis. The total amount of artist grants in 2024 is 26 269.46 euros.
Grant recipients must pay the statutory pension insurance contribution in accordance with the applicable Farmer’s Pensions Act (MYEL), which covers also grant recipients. The premium percentage rate is 13–25% of the total amount of the grant. The amount of the insurance premium is based on the recipient’s age and computational annual earnings, as stipulated in the insurance decision. Further information about applying for insurance is available website of the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution Mela.
In addition, there is an insurance obligation for some grant work that is carried out abroad. Persons who are over the age of 68 or receive an old age pension cannot take out pension insurance.
Paid employment during the grant period
Artist grants must be used for continuous artistic work in accordance with the work plan provided in the application. Recipients of one-year, three-year and five-year grants may not be in full-time employment in the public or private sectors during the grant period. However, part-time employment is permitted for up to 10 hours per week or on a 30% contract.
The number of hours may exceed this amount for short periods, as long as the average number of hours remains within the permitted limit over the longer period. Grant recipients who intend to be employed on a part-time basis during the grant period must contact the special advisor at Taike whose contact information is provided in the decision.
Full-time employment is permitted during the grant period only for recipients of half-year grants.
Postponement of grant work
The beginning of the grant period may be postponed for the following reasons:
- Sickness or rehabilitation of the grant recipient (medical certificate required)
- Birth of a child or care of a child under the age of 3 (decision taken by Kela)
- Partial parental leave (decision taken by Kela)
- Military service or civilian service (enrolment order, civil service order)
- Other comparable reason
Interruption of grant work
The grant period may be interrupted and continued at a corresponding period later if the work is interrupted for the following reasons:
- Sickness or rehabilitation of the grant recipient (medical certificate required)
- Birth of a child or care of a child under the age of 3 (decision taken by Kela)
- Military service or civilian service (enrolment order, civil service order)
- Other comparable reason
- Other paid employment (proof of employment, public sector or service employment, or business activities)
Interrupting the grant period requires that at least four months have passed since the start of the grant period, that the interruption will last at least four months, and that at least four months will remain of the grant period after the interruption.
If the grant period is interrupted due to paid employment, the grant must be used within two years of the end of the original grant period.
Working on another grant is not considered acceptable grounds for interrupting the grant period. Applications for postponing or interrupting the grant period must be submitted to Taike no later than 30 days before the start of the interruption.
The interruption of a grant period must be approved by Taike. Upon receiving the decision, the applicant must request from Mela an interruption of grant insurance for the corresponding period.
