The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s residency programme was launched in its current form in 2017 and has since become one of the largest in Europe, both in terms of the number of residencies and their geographical locations. Many residency programmes aimed at Finnish artists take them to the United States or Europe. The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s programme has taken artists to Asia, South America and Australia, and from 2026 also to Africa.
The locations currently include major international centres for art such as New York, Tokyo and Copenhagen, and a new destination, London. The foundation also has strong northern ties that take artists to places such as Iceland and the Lofoten Islands of Norway. Africa and the Global South are some of the programme’s future focus areas.
In the last few years, the programme has had around ten international residency locations, and 2026 will see the addition of its first location in Africa: the Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) residency in Lagos and Ijebu Ode, established by artist Yinka Shonibare in 2019. The Acme residency in London with its rich traditions will also be included in the programme in 2026. The call for applications for these locations will open in August 2025.
The G.A.S. residency focuses on materiality, identity, cultural heritage, food security and the ecological crisis. In addition to visual artists, curators as well as artists and writers from other disciplines whose work has geographical or thematic links to the residency are eligible to apply. The other new location, Acme in East London, offers excellent networking opportunities for visual artists as well as individual support, for example, through mentoring.
“I couldn’t be happier with the high quality of the new partners we have attracted to the programme. London’s importance as a centre for the arts is indisputable, and Lagos is an enthralling and vibrant city for the visual arts. However, location alone is not enough. Residencies must also be able to provide artists with networking opportunities and support, which G.A.S. and Acme both do,” says Development Director Johanna Ruohonen, who runs the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s residency programme.
Of last year’s locations, Filba in Buenos Aires is not included in the August round of applications. Some of the locations will continue to change each year, allowing the continuous development of the programme.
Supporting mobility in the arts
The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s residency programme combines top-quality locations with sufficient funding for artistic work during the residency. Longer residencies lasting between 2 to 5 months promote the development of artists’ work, contribute to lasting networks and increase appreciation for cultural diversity. The effects achieved will gradually radiate more widely into Finnish art. The next call for applications for the residency programme will be open in August 2025. A webinar with information about the application process will be held on 19 August 2025. More detailed instructions will be provided on the residency programme’s website in August.
Another type of grant open for applications in August is the mobility grant, which is intended to cover the costs of artists’ and art critics’ international collaboration projects, residencies, exhibition projects or festival participation. Mobility grants are awarded for stays of at least two weeks in the target country.
Read more
Residency alumni
Read an article about Panos Balomenos’ experiences at experiences at a residency offered by Triangle in New York.
Until starting at the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Heta Kaisto will continue in her current position as Curator of the Rauma Art Museum, where she has served since 2019. Kaisto has previously worked, among others, at the City of Lapua’s museums and the Finnish National Gallery. She has also been involved in various multi-arts research projects and is an active writer and lecturer.
“In addition to her vision and experience, Heta Kaisto has an extensive network of artists and excellent connections within the Finnish museum scene and the art sector. Our aim is to promote the role of art in society and for that we need the best experts available,” says Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Photo: Heidi Piiroinen
“For me, the Kirpilä Art Collection represents humanism and a warm way of encountering and working with the public. I very much appreciate this opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge as an art and museum expert, together with the Kirpilä team and the entire network of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. I believe that museums play an increasingly important role in strengthening Finnish culture in our time. I also see art in a very practical way as a part of society and the network of various organisations,” says Heta Kaisto.
Kirpilä Art Collection is an art museum in Töölö, Helsinki, run by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The Kirpilä Art Collection showcases the art collected by Doctor Juhani Kirpilä (1931–1988) and organises exhibitions of contemporary art, concerts, guided tours and other events.
Altogether 150 post-doctoral scholars from around Finland took part in the spring application round. Thus a grant could be awarded to 16 % of the applicants.
Each year, the foundations involved in the Pool allocate altogether 3.2 million euro to post-doctoral scholars. The research periods abroad vary from 6 months up to 24 months. The Pool’s next application round will take place from 15 August until 15 September 2025, when some 1.6 million euro will be given in grants. The results of this round will be published by December 2025.
The Finnish Foundations’ Post Doc Pool was founded in 2009 to support researchers and Finnish research in becoming more international. During this time, the Pool’s foundations have granted over 40 million euros to post-doctoral researchers heading abroad from Finland. After 31 application rounds, already over 800 scholars have received funding through the Pool. Over one third of the grants have been awarded for two-year periods.
Säätiöiden post doc -pooli has proven to be an important instrument of research funding which has enabled young scholars with families to finance research periods at top universities abroad. The grants awarded by the Pool are determined flexibly in accordance with the applicant’s needs and they often include their family’s moving expenses and children’s day care or school fees.
During the current three-year-period 2025-2027 there are thirteen foundations involved in the pool. They are Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, Emil Aaltonen’s Foundation, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, the Foundation for Economic Education, Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish Medical Foundation, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland, Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Ulla Tuominen’s Foundation.
A new initiative of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Mirjam Helin Academy, will start in August 2025. The academy aims to provide training for ambitious young singers. The selected students will study topics including performance, programme design, vocal technique, and many related skills required in the music industry, according to a personal study plan. The Finnish Cultural Foundation will cover all the students’ expenses.
The first singers to take part in the academy have now been selected: Iris Candelaria, Martin Iivarinen, Emma Karsten, Gabriel Kivivuori Sereno, Johannes Pessi, Tuomas Pääkkönen and Marjaana Ritanen.
Two young singers still in school, Faraja Mwamalumbili and Matvei Palola, will participate in a preparatory junior programme.
Faraja Mwamalumbili and Matvei Palola will participate in a preparatory junior programme.
Applications were welcomed from talented students of classical voice and young professionals in the field in early 2025. The academy did not want to restrict applications too much, for instance by imposing an age limit, as it hoped to include singers from all backgrounds and regions in Finland.
“These ideas were realised in a wonderful way. The number of applicants exceeded our expectations, and the selected singers come from all over Finland”, says Päivi Loponen-Kyrönseppä, who is in charge of the programme at the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
In total, 144 applications were received, and 26 singers participated in the live auditions. The jury consisted of Rosemary Joshua, soprano and director of the Dutch National Opera Studio, Alessandro Misciasci, pianist and choral conductor, Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritone, and Kari Heiskanen, director.
The teachers at the Mirjam Helin Academy will be recruited from the very top of the music profession, and they include opera singers, conductors, directors, musical experts and professionals. The teachers confirmed so far are opera singers Camilla Nylund, Luca Pisaroni and Linda Watson, conductor and pianist Audrey Saint-Gil, psychologist Marjukka Laurola and poet and university lecturer Vesa Haapala.
The Mirjam Helin Academy is funded via the Mirjam and Hans Helin donor fund. The aim of the fund is to support the Mirjam Helin Singing Competition and to award grants to artists and initiatives within the classical-music field. Mirjam Helin (1911–2006) made a significant donation to the Finnish Cultural Foundation. She was a renowned singer and much-loved voice pedagogue with a passion for teaching, a profession in which she continued until she was over 80 years of age.
Concerts for the public in connection with weekend sessions and summer courses
In the Mirjam Helin Academy, teaching will be given in intense weekend sessions and at summer courses to be held across Finland, in collaboration with leading Finnish practitioners in the field.
The first teaching period will be on 14-17 August 2025 in Turku. Other locations for the autumn are Joensuu on 12-14 September and Järvenpää on 13-16 November 2025.
There will also be concerts for the public. After the Turku weekend, the singers will perform on the Espa stage in Helsinki on Monday, 18 August 2025 at 15.
Frame and the Finnish Cultural Foundation will organise a study trip in September 2025 to the 36th São Paulo Biennial and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Participants for the trip were selected through an open call directed at contemporary art professionals.
The selected participants are Danai Anagnostou, Producer at Kenno Filmi and Doctoral Researcher at Aalto ELO, Karoliina Korpilahti, Executive Director of the Association of Finnish Sculptors, Anna Perälä, Exhibition Curator from WAM Turku City Art Museum, and Elham Rahmati, Artist, curator, co-founder & co-editor of NO NIIN Magazine. Altogether 51 applications were submitted for the study trip.
At the top: Danai Anagnostou (Photo: Evgenia Bourzoukou) and Karoliina Korpilahti (Photo: Jesse Laitinen). At the bottom: Anna Perälä and Elham Rahmati (Photo: Salamata Mboup).
In addition, professionals who can cover the costs of the trip themselves or through their organisation may also join the programme.
The applications were assessed by a jury consisting of Juha Huuskonen, CEO of Frame, Johanna Ruohonen, Development Director at the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Anni Venäläinen, Frame’s Board member and Museum Director. In the assessment, the jury especially considered the benefits of the study trip for the participant’s work or for the organisation they represent.
The study trips aim to familiarize participants with the art scene in the destination countries, visit international contemporary art events, build networks, and identify potential partners. The São Paulo Biennial is the largest contemporary art exhibition in Latin America. In addition to the Biennial, the itinerary includes meetings and visits to local contemporary art organisations.
Johanna Ruohonen, PhD, has been appointed Development Director of the Finnish Cultural Foundation from 1 April 2025. The Development Director is a member of the foundation’s management group.
In her new role, Ruohonen will be responsible for the development of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, with a focus on international issues. She will also be responsible for the foundation’s Science & Art (Tiede & Taide) activities as well as events aimed at strengthening the national visibility of science, research and art. Ruohonen will also continue to manage the foundation’s residency programme for artists.
“Foundations play an important role as advocates for science, research and the arts. We want to play our part in building a multi-voiced societal debate in Finland and internationally. Johanna Ruohonen’s solid experience is a good starting point for advancing our goals,” says Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
“In this day and age, it is extremely important to highlight the importance of art, research and science. Social polarisation, alternative truths, funding cuts and the decline of public debate are eroding the foundations of science and art, and this trend needs to be countered,” says Johanna Ruohonen.
“In this day and age, it is extremely important to highlight the importance of art, research and science”, says Ruohonen.
Ruohonen joined the Finnish Cultural Foundation in 2015. She currently works as a Museum Director at the Kirpilä Art Collection and as a Senior Advisor for grants and projects. Over the past ten years, Ruohonen has renewed the Kirpilä Art Collection by introducing contemporary art exhibitions and queer-themed guided tours, among other things. The number of visitors to the Kirpilä Art Collection has tripled during her tenure. Ruohonen has also been responsible for developing the foundation’s international residency programme and many projects, including Museovisio, Selkopolku, Taide2 and a support programme for Finnish Romani language and culture.
“The Finnish Cultural Foundation provides a wide range of support for artists, researchers and scientists throughout the country, and also internationally through various mobility programmes, among other things. Art and science are highly international fields of activity, which is why our aim is to increase cross-border cooperation models,” says Ruohonen.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation will start recruiting a new Museum Director for the Kirpilä Art Collection at the beginning of March 2025.
In line with the three award themes, the winners are people who are building a sustainable, pluralistic and multi-voiced Finland; strengthening the role of science, research and art in society; or are top future talents in driving change in the fields of art, science and research. The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s 2025 Grand Awards went to author Pirkko Saisio, Professor of Music Petri Toiviainen and soprano Iris Candelaria.
“Science, research and art have intrinsic value. Strong, talented artists, scientists and researchers who have a distinctive voice are the backbone of our culture. We need role models who aren’t afraid to ask difficult questions and bring new perspectives to the table,” says Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
The nominations for the awards were prepared by three panels of five members each, all specialists in their field of science, research or art. The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Board of Trustees selected three winners from these nominations. The awards were presented at the foundation’s annual gala on the 27th of February 2025.
The best of the future: Soprano Iris Candelaria
Iris Candelaria (b. 1995) has quickly become one of Finland’s most prominent lyric sopranos. She has performed major roles at the Finnish National Opera and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, among others. She is currently playing the role of Valencienne in The Merry Widow at the National Opera. In the coming years, she will aim for the opera stages of Central Europe.
Candelaria won the joint first prize at the Lappeenranta National Singing Competition in 2023. She also won the Audience Award there and at the Havets Röst competition in 2021 and was the winner of the 2019 Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition. She has appeared as a soloist with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
Candelaria studied at the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, graduating with a Master of Music degree from its opera programme in 2022, and is currently involved in the Finnish National Opera’s Young Singers Programme.
“She displays a special charisma and radiance in her musical expression,” said the Grand Award panel. They also praised Candelaria’s acting skills.
The panel also mention that Candelaria is helping to take the art form in a healthier direction by being open about the setbacks she has had, rather than simply sharing success stories.
The award is granted to a talented singer at the beginning of her career.
All of Finland: Author Pirkko Saisio
Author and director Pirkko Saisio (b. 1949) is a favourite among readers and critics of many generations. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Saisio’s debut novel, Elämänmeno (English translation Lowest Common Denominator published in 2024). Since then, she has published more than 20 novels, some under pseudonyms. Saisio has also written around thirty plays.
According to the panel, both the scope of Saisio’s output and its high standard throughout are exceptional in the history of Finnish literature.
Saisio’s The Red Book of Farewells (2023; original Punainen erokirja published in Finnish in 2003) was recently voted the most important Finnish book of the 21st century by the readers of the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. Her most recent works, Passio (2021) and Suliko (2024), have received rave reviews. Some of her works have also been included in the prestigious Penguin Modern Classics series.
In their statement, the panel say that perhaps the most fundamental part of Saisio’s art is the theme that runs through her work, describing a person’s endless loneliness and feeling of being different in their family, their country, their culture and in the history of the world as a whole.
As well as being a writer, Pirkko Saisio is an active spokesperson for cultural issues. She was an LGBTQ activist long before homosexuality was talked about in the public sphere, or even depicted in art to any significant degree.
The prize is awarded to a literary innovator, a creator of spellbinding writing.
Strong science, research and art: Professor Petri Toiviainen
Professor Petri Toiviainen (b. 1959) is a pioneering interdisciplinary researcher on the role of the body and brain in the perception of music. He was Head of the Research Council of Finland’s Centre of Excellence in Music Research from 2008 to 2013 and Academy Professor from 2014 to 2018. He is currently Director of the Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body and Brain (CoE MMBB).
CoE MMBB, a consortium between three research groups at the University of Jyväskylä and University of Helsinki, studies music as a multimodal human experience, and as a versatile engine of change throughout the human lifespan. The CoE MMBB combines musicology, psychology, education, music therapy, computer science and cognitive neuroscience.
The panel is impressed by Toiviainen’s research, which has gained wide international recognition in the scientific community. His research aims to deepen our understanding of the role of the body and the brain in the perception of music. It also increases our knowledge of perception and cognition in general and, in particular, the relationship between the processing of music and language. The knowledge gained will have applications in music therapy, music education and the performance of music.
The award is granted to a researcher of the mind, music and the brain, an integrator of art and science.
Future Finland is a large-scale initiative by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Finnish Cultural Foundation launched at the beginning of 2025. Through Future Finland, a new birth cohort will be established in Finland to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The goal is to find means and solutions to promote the well-being of future generations and to strengthen the sustainability of the Finnish welfare society.
A birth cohort refers to a group of people born during a specific time period, for example during certain years. These individuals will be followed over a long period of time to examine various factors affecting their health and well-being.
In Future Finland, data obtained from various national registers will be supplemented with information collected directly from the families. The growing comprehensive data bank can be utilised in research across various scientific disciplines in the coming decades.
The collection of register data started at the beginning of this year. All children born in Finland between 2025 and 2029 and their families, as well as families who move to Finland later and have a child born in 2025–2029, will be included.
Approximately every other family will be invited to participate in the questionnaire surveys. They will also be separately asked to give a permission for the use of blood samples collected during pregnancy and infancy in the databank.
When the upcoming research results produced from the samples are combined with the questionnaire and registry data, valuable information will be obtained regarding the development of well-being and health in children, young people, and families.
“The Future Finland birth cohort will provide a unique opportunity to explore how prenatal, early childhood, and later life factors shape health and well-being throughout the entire lifespan,” says the Director of Future Finland, Annamari Lundqvist from THL.
“The research will broaden our understanding of the impacts of various genetic and environmental factors and societal measures. Based on this knowledge, we can develop preventive measures, improve services and support better living conditions – thus promoting the well-being of future generations and a sustainable development of the society,” Lundqvist adds.
The implementation of Future Finland is carried out by a comprehensive team of experts representing various scientific disciplines, and the data collected from the birth cohort will be made available to the entire Finnish scientific community. The large-scale initiative is coordinated by the THL and funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
“In its ambition, the Future Finland Birth Cohort is not only an internationally interesting entity, but also a good reminder of the importance of long-term work and research-based knowledge. We want to invest in the future and research information,” says Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Families to be invited to participate in the study already this autumn
The collection of national registry data for Future Finland began at the beginning of this year. The collection of samples and questionnaire data from families will also be launched regionally this year, with plans to expand this to a national level within the next few years.
More information
The research opportunities opened by Future Finland were presented to the Finnish scientific community at a webinar on 5 February 2025. In spring 2025, a low-threshold scientific expert network will be launched and invited monthly to discuss operational planning and implementation of the Future Finland birth cohort.
The image above is from the 2024 performance Tick, Tick… Boom! by students of the University of the Arts Helsinki , where musical theatre studies have this far been offered as a minor subject. Photo by Roosa Oksaharju / Uniarts Helsinki.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded large grants for applied research supporting the mental health of children and young people, having reserved €1 million in total towards it in this round of applications. Other major grants were awarded to help pilot a master’s programme in musical theatre, celebrate the centenary of the Helsinki Student Theatre and develop artificial intelligence to revitalise the Sámi language.
“Science, research and the arts are the foundation of a pluralistic and sustainable society. Everyone who has donated money to the foundation over the last 80 years has understood the significant role that culture plays in building a future for our flourishing country. Thanks to them, we are able to provide long-term funding for science, research and art throughout Finland,”
Susanna Pettersson
CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation
The number of grant applications submitted for the October round has been steadily growing for several years. This time, the foundation received a record 10,706 applications. The amount of money given as grants has also increased, totalling €55 million for all of last year’s application rounds. Yet competition for the grants has become tougher than ever. In the October round, 9.2% of research and science applications and 6.7% of art applications were successful. The share of the art grants awarded rose to 47% (from 43% in 2024).
Number of applications 2016-2025
Development of the number of applications for the October round from 2016 to 2025
“Especially artists and art communities are struggling at the moment. But grants from the Finnish Cultural Foundation alone will not solve the problem. We also need to look for new ways for foundations, businesses, municipalities and the state to collaborate to broaden the funding base,” says Pettersson.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation seeks to promote opportunities for long-term research and scientific and artistic work. Indeed, it awarded 157 multi-year grants, seven of which cover four years. One-year grants accounted for just under half of all those awarded.
Applications in the October round are peer-reviewed by nearly sixty panels of experts from different research, scientific and artistic disciplines.
Significant funding for musical theatre and cultural organisations and events
The University of the Arts Helsinki received €300,000 in funding to set up a pilot master’s programme in musical theatre starting in autumn 2026. The degree programme is jointly offered by the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy and Sibelius Academy. The programme teaches acting, dance, musical singing, voice control and ensemble singing in a genuinely cross-artistic environment. The programme will strengthen musical theatre know-how in Finland and help develop this sector of performance art, whose audience numbers are growing rapidly.
Founded in 1926, the Helsinki Student Theatre has for almost a century been encouraging young artists to experiment and grow artistically. Photo: Aliisa Kirjavainen
“The need for high-quality education in musical theatre in this country has long been recognised, but until now, there hasn’t been a master’s degree available in this field in Finland. This programme is the only one of its kind in the Nordic countries and therefore an important initiative,” says Susanna Pettersson.
The Helsinki Student Theatre received €100,000 for a project to celebrate its centenary. This funding will help the theatre to produce its 100th-anniversary programme and an archiving and history project. It will also allow the theatre to strengthen its financial base, which will secure its continuity. The contemporary circus group Circo Aereo received €90,000 and the Free Art School €100,000 in funding. The Artists’ Association of Finland is seeking new funding models for art with the help of a grant of €90,000.
The Free Art School received €100 000 to prepare a plan for the future. This is the construction of the Free Art School’s final work exhibition at the cable factory’s extrusion plant. Photo: Virppi Sysilehto
Many cultural events also received grants. Some examples include the association for chamber music in Finnish cities, Kamarimusiikkia kaupungeissa, which will be organising concerts for the Helsinki Seriös chamber music event, and Lead!,which will use its grant to organise the programme of the Fiskars Summer Festival.
Grants for endangered cultural capital and arts accessibility
The Finnish Cultural Foundation continues to support minority languages and cultures in Finland.
Professor Mikko Kurimo and his team received €200,000 for a research project that involves experts from Aalto University and the University of Lapland who specialise in speech and language models, the teaching of Sámi language and indigenous education. The aim is to use AI to develop new resources and teaching materials that will help to revitalise and strengthen the use of Sámi languages in different environments. The researchers involved work closely with Sámi communities.
Professor Mikko Kurimo and his team received €200,000 for a research project that aims to use AI to develop new resources and teaching materials that will help to revitalise and strengthen the use of Sámi languages in different environments. Photo: Riitta Supperi
With their grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Skolt Saami Cultural Foundation will study the situation of the Skolt Sámi language in Finnish society, and the Suõnn Collective will organise an exhibition on Sámi people in Helsinki together with the Helsinki City Museum. Skábmagovat, the support association for Sámi art, received funding for organising the Skábmagovat Indigenous Film Festival in Inari, Finland. As its name suggests, the festival showcases indigenous cinematic art.
The Finnish Romani language is endangered and the number of people who speak it has significantly declined. The foundation awarded Kimmo Granqvist and his team a grant for creating new online study materials for students of Finnish Romani and Henry Lindgren for a short film in Romani. The Support Association for the Museum of Finnish Roma Culture received a grant to create a multimodal work of art called Kadonneiden kantaatti (Cantata of the Missing).
The purpose of Art for Everyone funding is to increase the opportunities of people in need of care or support to experience high-quality art and, in this way, promote cultural equality. The foundation awarded a total of €400,000 between 10 projects.
Research on children and adolescents’ mental health
In addition to general grants for research, science and the arts, the Finnish Cultural Foundation allocates funding for some specific themes. In the October round of applications, these included applied research on the mental health of children and adolescents, towards which the foundation awarded a total of €1 million.
“Over the last decade, mental health issues among children and young people have increased. They are absent from school more and more due to poor mental health, street violence is more visible than ever, and the number of suicides and death by drugs is growing. There is a lot of general research on this subject, but very little high-quality applied research.”
Juhana Lassila
Deputy CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation
Six projects focusing on this subject were awarded funding.
Associate Professor Max Karukivi and his team (University of Turku) received a grant of €162,500 for research on youth psychiatric patients in need of demanding care. The aim is to conduct register-based research to produce new information on young people with severe mental health disorders and to investigate the effectiveness of group schema therapy in treating emotional instability in young people.
Loneliness is one of the most common risk factors for mental health. Professor Jari Lahti and his team (University of Helsinki), together with students in Finland, are developing a psychosocial model adapted to Finnish conditions for the prevention of loneliness. They received a grant of €225,000. Their goal is to establish the approach in the Finnish educational system.
Doctor of Health Sciences Kaisa Mishina and the Voimaperheet working group (University of Turku) received €220,000 for a study on a culturally sensitive, digitalised and universal parenting programme. The multidisciplinary working group aims to help people with an immigrant background to strengthen their parenting skills.
Doctor of Health Sciences Kaisa Mishina and the Voimaperheet working group are studying a culturally sensitive, digitalised and universal parenting programme. Photo: Robert Seger
Other projects that received funding are led by Professor Riittakerttu Kaltiala (University of Tampere), Adjunct Professor Aino Saarinen (University of Helsinki) and Doctor of Medicine Juulia Paavonen (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare).
Non-fiction and journalism
The foundation awarded more than €0.5 million for non-fiction literature and the popularisation of science and art. The non-fiction books being written with funding from the Finnish Cultural Foundation explore subjects such as the most dangerous forms of violent crime (Taina Kuuskorpi); Finnish-American workers’ songs (Karri Miettinen); reindeer welfare, use for tourism and ethical training methods (Anne Ollila); the life of Maire Gullichsen, a well-known Finnish spokesperson for the arts (Hanna-Reetta Schreck) and the history of science fiction in Finland (Vesa Sisättö).
The grant for a work that focuses on the life of a Finnish statesperson, awarded from the Wellamo Paasikivi Fund, went to Making Movies Oy for a documentary on the 1973 derogation law.
The foundation also supported science and art journalism: Long Play online publication received €100,000 for its cultural journalism, and Kultti, the Association for Cultural, Scientific and Advocacy Magazines, received the same amount for a project focusing on the digitalisation of magazines.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Eminentia grant is intended for sharing in written form a person’s research-related, scientific or artistic life’s work and the experience gained from it to benefit others. Eminentia grants were awarded to children’s and young adults’ author Tuula Kallioniemi, Doctor of Fine Arts and Dramaturg Marja-Riitta Koivumäki-Odd, Cultural Journalist Kirsikka Moring and Professor Kari Raivio, the University of Helsinki’s former rector and chancellor.
Long-term work in research, science and the arts
A multi-year grant allows the grantee to focus on their research, scientific or artistic work for a period of 2 to 4 years. The foundation awarded such grants, among others, to authors Hanna-Riikka Kuisma, Erkka Mykkänen and Johanna Venho, as well as to artists Henna Aho, Zagros Manuchar, Kasper Muttonen, Bogna Wisniewska and Outi Pieski. Other recipients of multi-year grants include choreographer and performance artist Masi Tiitta, glass artist Alma Jantunen, choreographer Jarkko Mandelin, playwright Pipsa Lonka, screenwriter Anna Brotkin and filmmaker and choreographer Ima Iduozee. In the field of music, multi-year grants were awarded, among others, to writer and musician Niillas Holmberg, opera singer Minna-Leena Lahti, violist Hanna Hohti, accordionist and conductor Janne Valkeajoki, and composers Kerkko Koskinen and Alex Feeman.
The recipients of multi-year grants for doctoral studies include Charlotta Palmroos, MSc. (Political Science), whose work focuses on AI-assisted weapons systems and international humanitarian law, MSc. Myungjin Moon who studies masculinity and Finnish conscientious objectors in care work, and MSc. Juuso Huovila who studies the diagnostics of sleep disorders. Ilona Hohteri, MSc. (Agriculture and Forestry), is studying the views of citizens, forest owners and forest stakeholders on forest-related objectives in Finland.
Multi-year grants for postdoctoral research were awarded, among others, to PhD Riikka Niemelä and her research on the history of artist women creating Finnish experimental art, and PhD Andrew Agbaje, who studies the impact of vaping and e-cigarette use and the resulting risk of cardiac, brain, kidney and liver damage in young people.
The goal is to increase regional unity and community spirit
The Regional Council of Kymenlaakso describes Kymenlaakso as “Finland’s most caring region”. Could Kymenlaakso also be the most empathic region in Finland, where decision-making is based on empathy and collaboration? Asks Empathy Artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala, who is in charge of realising Kymenlaakso Fund’s cultural project.
“Empathy is scientifically proven to help us understand each other, and the unique experiences, perspectives, values and needs we all possess.” continues Tuomala.
The project is focused on developing methods for investigating and increasing empathy through artistic approaches. The process is participatory and evolves throughout the project.
The main goal is to increase unity and community spirit in the region. “We hope that through the project there will be methods for advancing empathy to share in different contexts across the region, ” says the fund’s administrative committee’s chair Tiina Kirvesniemi.
Decision-makers are invited to join the Empathy Council
The multi-year empathy project launches in January 2025 within the structures of regional decision-making by founding The Empathy Council. The Empathy Council invites Kymenlaakso’s current and future leaders and decision-makers from all municipalities in the region to come together to consider the role of empathy and the need for it in Kymenlaakso, the regional culture of decision-making, collaboration and conversation. The council will aim to address the need by developing shared approaches and methods for increasing empathy and co-operation in the area. The Empathy Council will be made of elected members of the local councils and youth councils, as well as civil servants from all six municipalities. They will act as the advisors as well as the audience for the first phase of the project.
Kirvesniemi wonders “could decision making and the resulting decisions be of a higher quality, more long-lasting and advance causes better, when they are built on empathy and cooperation”. “The time of being pitted against one another is over said a politician, but should the reality of politics change from celebratory speeches to reality?”
In the future the activities can expand from councils to new contexts and destinations around the region.
Realised by the world’s first Empathy Artist Enni-Kukka Tuomala
Enni-Kukka Tuomala is from Kotka, lives in London and works internationally. She is the world’s first Empathy Artist. Tuomala’s multidisciplinary art practice has long been focused on investigating the relationships between empathy, power, space and systems.
As the Election Artist she has examined the current state of Western democracy, electoral systems and the role of empathy in political culture and dialogue, documenting recent elections in Finland, Europe and USA. Tuomala has also worked as an artist in the Parliament of Finland, where she developed a series of artworks and empathy tools for politics in collaboration with Members of Parliament
“Now more than ever we need to find new ways to listen and understand each other. It is my great joy and honour to realise the Kymenlaakso Regional Fund committee’s vision of a more empathic Kymenlaakso, the region I am from. It’s meaningful that our work begins by bringing empathy into the structures of decision-making. We need collaboration in order to solve bigger and more complex future challenges. Only through empathy can we change the world together.”
