Blog: If there is no money, what is there?

The working group for the cultural policy report has been at its challenging task throughout the spring. The group has commendably listened to various stakeholders in numerous meetings, and its members also attended an event by the Artists' Association, Frame, and Kuvasto to discuss the future of the visual arts sector. The working group is expected to complete its work by June, and the Parliament will discuss the report in the autumn.

A positive challenge in the process has been the scale. The report aims to examine the cultural sector holistically, looking far into the future. A negative challenge, however, has been the precondition for solutions that do not require additional public funding for the cultural sector. In reality, there is a pressing need to increase the cultural budget and provide more equitable funding for different artistic disciplines. 

Nevertheless, below I propose a few smaller and larger ideas for developing the cultural sector while not asking for more money. 

Culture permeates society and policy sectors

The vitality of the cultural sector requires that it is not pushed into the margins in Finnish decision-making but being considered across all key policy sectors, such as economic policy, security policy, foreign policy, and environmental policy. As we are part of a broader European political community, it is also important to look towards the upcoming European elections in June. Regarding the future of the EU, the biggest challenges and opportunities revolve around competitiveness, new technologies, the green transition, and unfortunately, security. Culture has a role to play in all these aspects, and I would like to see Finland leading the way in harnessing the creative expertise.

Business and internationalization funding accessible to culture and creative industries

In the current government's cultural policy but also in the framework of the report there is a strong focus in developing new business initiatives and strengthening international trade in the cultural sector. Achieving these goals requires strategic collaboration between ministries, such as the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

As the first step, it should be explored how Business Finland, the public agency offering innovation funding and internationalization services, could better tailor its funding to meet the needs of the cultural and creative sectors. Currently, artistic content creation generally does not fit within Business Finland's application criteria, and the business activities of artists are too small-scale for it. Previous attempts to meet the needs of the creative sectors have been made through the Creative Business Finland programme, but its activities are not continuing.

Following the recent decisions of the government’s budget session, Business Finland's funding will be directed towards research and development activities. This focus builds on Finland's strengths, as we are among the top six globally in innovation and third in the EU area, although there are still challenges in commercializing these innovations. However, the cultural sector is that its actors do not benefit much from this focus area. A representative of Business Finland interviewed by Helsingin Sanomat suggested that R&D funding could be used for supporting innovations utilizing new AI technology or augmented reality, thus providing employment for creative professionals.

While the idea is generally good, it reveals how little understanding or interest there is towards the cultural sector which brims with creative expertise. It would be a waste to try to fit it into externally defined forms. Rather, the potential for business and internationalization in the cultural sector should be identified from within, and financing instruments should be tailored to support the sector's real needs.

Furthermore, it should be noted that a significant portion of innovation development and international efforts take place in associations. However, there are currently no targeted funding instruments available for this area. If investments were made in the associations, it would be realistic to eventually expect some commercial outcomes too.

Strengthening the collaboration between ministries 

Securing expertise in culture and the creative sectors in other ministries besides the Ministry of Education and Culture is paramount. The government program also recognizes the need to strengthen collaboration between ministries and it is the people who collaborate. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has long had a Ministerial Adviser for culture and the creative sectors, and relatively recently, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs established the position of Ambassador for Culture and the Creative Industries. The existence of such official roles provides continuity to the exchange between the cultural sector and government. Within the framework of the report, there is an opportunity to significantly develop Finnish cultural policy. When doing this, it is important to recognize the differences between various artistic disciplines and create support and funding systems to meet sector-specific needs. Dialogue between ministries increases the likelihood of success in this matter as well.

Completing the social security reform 

The social security reform initiated in the previous government term is a significant process led by the parliamentary social security committee. For artists, social security policy is at least as significant as cultural policy. It is important to finalize the social security reform, taking into account the needs of self-employed individuals, and to implement a reasonably priced combination insurance. A small but significant measure would be uniform guidance for TE Offices in handling unemployment benefits for artists. According to the Arts and Culture Barometer 2022 by the Cultural Policy Research Center Cupore, more than half of the respondents (55%) reported facing problems with unemployment benefits, and likewise, half (50%) with social security issues in their artistic professions.

New opportunities in digital environments

The development of generative artificial intelligence is the most significant global upheaval in recent years, affecting all areas of society. In the European context, discussions about generative AI are linked to concerns about Europe's strategic autonomy, i.e., the ability to act independently in relation to superpowers. The old wisdom goes that the United States is good at innovation, China at imitation, and the EU at regulation. In this case, EU regulation has been beneficial for culture and the creative industries. The AI Act approved by the European Parliament in March stipulates that general-purpose AI models must comply with EU copyright legislation and meet certain transparency obligations. Although the practical significance and implementation of the regulation are still unclear, there is an active effort to prevent the negative impacts of AI on creative industries. To monitor implementation, a new European AI Office was established under the European Commission in February 2024.

Digital platforms and tools strongly shape the creation, presentation, and experience of art beyond just AI. Copyrights are the main target for regulatory development but also enable new revenue streams for creative workers.

Artistic expertise in non-artistic contexts

Last but not least, I call for a change in attitudes regarding the diverse skills of artists. Artistic skills and thinking create value not only for the cultural sector but also for other sectors. For example, municipalities, companies, and universities could boldly take on the role of employers and hire artists to do artistic work in new contexts. The only real obstacle to this is entrenched attitudes on all sides. But thankfully, change is always possible.

Annukka Vähäsöyrinki
Director, Artists’ Association of Finland