Finnish Cultural Policy in Brief

A distinctive feature of Finnish cultural policy is the alliance of three key players:

1. We have exceptionally strong foundations, whose funding is crucial, particularly for the renewal of the arts and new investments. In some cultural sectors, private investors also play a key role.

2. Municipalities have an unusually significant role in public funding for culture. Municipalities fund culture on a similar scale to the state.

3. The state’s role is primarily to co-finance alongside municipalities and private foundations.

In the cultural economy, the largest financier is, naturally, private households in Finland, whose consumption choices direct the development of the sector. Sales and copyright revenues, in addition to public funding, influence what kind of culture is produced in Finland.

Digitalization has significantly increased the productivity of the cultural sector in this millennium. The turnover of the creative industries is a total of 14 billion euros, generated within networks of over 130,000 small entrepreneurs. No single entity has centralized power over cultural policy.

Snapshot of Finnish Cultural Policy in August 2024

We are experiencing a ”super autumn” in cultural policy. The government is planning massive cuts for the years 2025 and 2026, on top of the smaller cuts already made. The VAT on the sector will also rise next year. The government is preparing to present a cultural policy report to parliament, which will likely be the only opportunity this decade for parliament to address the entirety of cultural policy.

Calculations of the impacts of these cuts indicate that some areas in Finland will lose their last cultural operator, whether it be a handicrafts association, festival, dance group, or an entire theater. Several fewer domestic films will be produced each year, threatening regional cinemas that rely on Finnish films. The most cultural sector jobs will disappear in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Every million euros cut directly reduces the availability of art for Finns. The alliance of three financiers means that as the state’s funding decreases, the corresponding funding from municipalities and private investors also decreases for many cultural actors.

However, some Finnish municipalities continue to invest in culture for the sake of their vitality. Where there is financial flexibility and a will for culture, it may become an increasingly strong positive differentiator. For this reason, the cultural sector will strongly focus on influencing the upcoming municipal elections, which will be held next spring.

This text is AI-translated from a Finnish article