Kaisa Häkkinen

Kaisa Häkkinen, Professor Emerita and Finnish Academician of Science, has educated the Finnish public on the language that we use and the origins of its words.

Häkkinen has made an astonishing academic career in the fields of linguistics, Fennistics and Finno-Ugric philology. She began by examining the phonology of the Vogul dialect of the Uralic languages in a dissertation in 1973. Since then, she has held numerous posts at the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University and the Academy of Finland. Häkkinen has served the academic and scientific community as an assistant, adjunct professor, textbook author, professor, dean, head of institutes and scientific associations, and board member of various research institutions.

For any daily Finnish language user, Häkkinen’s Etymological Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish is a treasure trove. It reveals where our basic words come from, the stratifications of our language, the conclusions that may be drawn from the phonetic forms and distribution of words, and which parts of our formal language are borrowed vs. passed down. Her opus on the principles of linguistics has been required reading for entrance examinations at almost all Finnish universities.

In 2005, Kaisa Häkkinen received the State Award for Public Information for her book Linnun nimi, and in 2007 the Finnish Union of University Professors named her Professor of the Year. She received the title of Academician of Science in 2020.

The prize is awarded for peeling back the layers of language and explaining the meanings of words.

Mauno Järvelä

The continuing career of folk musician and violin pedagogue Mauno Järvelä has been crucial for the survival of traditional music and the growth of contemporary folk music in Finland. As an educator, he has revitalised and reformed musical instruction for children by developing the “näppäri” method, which centres around communal musicianship and inclusion. Through several decades of weekend and summer courses, the method has become a true popular movement with thousands of participants. Järvelä’s efforts have led to the preservation of the Kaustinen fiddling tradition, which is to be included on a UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

As a musician, Järvelä has had a significant influence on the development of contemporary folk music, particularly through the Kankaan pelimannit group in the 1970s and 80s, and the still active group JPP. His artistic output, especially in relation to modernising band music and as a composer, arranger and performer, has influenced the style of numerous fiddle-based contemporary folk music bands in Finland.

Järvelä’s work in recording and transcribing folk music is often overlooked; the masses of sheet music he has published via the Finnish Folk Music Institute have helped to ensure that unique Finnish musical traditions can be passed down to future generations.

The prize is awarded for being a preserver of traditions and a teacher of joyful musicianship.

Kuutti Lavonen

Kuutti Lavonen is a painter, graphic artist, photographer, professor and poet. Having studied in northern Italy at the Istituto Superiore per le Industrie Artistiche, he has conducted artistic work since 1978 that has helped to raise the status of Finnish visual arts nationally and internationally. Lavonen’s work can be found in preeminent collections in Sweden, France and Spain, among others.

One of Lavonen’s most significant works in the twenty-first century were the decorative murals of St Olaf’s Church in Tyrvää, created in collaboration with Osmo Rauhala. The two artists together received a cultural award from the Church of Finland for their efforts in 2009, and they also joined a long historical continuum of artists whose work has a spiritual element. His depictions of holiness link Lavonen to both the Renaissance and Baroque periods, which he so skilfully reflects in his work.

Lavonen was Professor of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki between 1999 and 2003, and he also founded the Helsinki Litho workshop. He can be credited with modernising graphic art in Finland and inspiring new generations of artists. Lavonen’s artistic output and ideas are an indication of how art opens us and how pictures give form to our thoughts.

Kuutti Lavonen presents us with fragments of eternal beauty, mirrored by associated powerful emotions. For decades, he has invited us through these to ponder our understanding of justice, truth and virtue. By showing humans in their naked, bare and mortal form, Lavonen brings history timelessly into the modern day. His works are like glimpses of a window of eternity.

The prize is awarded for the art of holiness and for depictions of true humanity.

This round saw 500 full-year working grants being awarded (compared to 442 the previous year): 321 for academic disciplines and 179 for the arts. As many as 135 multi-year grants were awarded (compared to 72); of these, 93 were for two years, 36 for three and six for four years. Of the full-year grants, 208 were designated for thesis writing.

– In recent years, we have deliberately increased our support for long-term academic and artistic work,explains the foundation’s Chairman, Jari Sokka.

– This is why in future years, the number of grantees may not grow even if the total monetary value hopefully will.

Finland’s most talented young cellists will receive high-quality supplementary teaching and opportunities for learning and playing with their peers at the Cello Academy, which was awarded the largest art grant, EUR 200,000.

– An interesting trend in this year’s grants was research on artificial intelligence. Funding was granted, among others, to postgraduate researcher Kunal Ghosh from Aalto University, who is studying the use of AI in discovering new technical materials, as well as EUR 150,000 to a team led by Juha Sinisalo, professor of cardiology at HUS, for research concerning the clinical application of AI in atherosclerosis, says Secretary General Antti Arjava.

Documentary filmmaker Juhani Haukka received EUR 105,000 for a film on extensive research conducted by the Finnish National Archives into the disappearance of Finnish nationals in Russia. The documentary follows the work and progress of the researchers over five years, in both Finland and Russia. Professor Pirjo Hiidenmaa with her team were granted EUR 120,000 for a two-year project investigating the ways in which literature is present in readers’ lives and the significance of books and reading.

Ten grants went to projects related to Sámi culture. The Skolt Sámi Cultural Foundation was granted EUR 200,000 to create schooling, ranging from immersive early education to elementary school, in their mother tongue for Skolt Sámi children, and for producing learning materials in the language. Professor Arja Rautio and a team of Sámi, Finnish and Canadian researchers received EUR 100,000 for research on the well-being and resources of Sámi reindeer herders. Sámi Duodji ry was granted a EUR 22,000 Art for Institutions grant for a project bringing Sámi culture into care institutions in Utsjoki.

Art for Institutions grants support well-being for the aged

Twenty-seven Art for Institutions grants, worth EUR 468,500 in total, were awarded within the arts. The objective of these grants is to promote cultural equality and, through art, to improve the quality of life of persons requiring special support or care.

– We have sought particularly to support the well-being of the aged through art. The coronavirus pandemic has forced many elderly people into long periods of isolation from their loved ones. We hope to help them find strength and meaning through art as soon as the pandemic permits, Antti Arjava says.

Some of the Art for Institutions grants were as follows: circus artist and educator Linda Kulmala and circus artist and educator Marianne Vaalimaa from Turku received EUR 11,500 to put on a circus show for care homes in the Turku region; Lahden Lähimmäispalvelu ry, EUR 15 000 for running a performance troupe for the aged and putting on performances for home help customers; Heidi Luosujärvi (MA Music) and Petteri Waris (MA Music), EUR 18,000 for organising concerts at care homes in Lapland; Tytti Marttila (Bachelor of Culture and Arts), EUR 4,500 for the Balticum, Kalajuttu performance tour of care home gardens; and Cooperative Circus Aikamoinen, EUR 10,000 for a circus tour of care homes in Uusimaa.

Multi-year grants for academia

In line with the previous year, 53% of all the grants awarded went to academic disciplines and 47% to the arts. In terms of purpose of use, artistic work accounted for 40% of grants (35% last year), theses for 28%, research for 7% and post doc research for 8%. Nine per cent of grants will go to organising events, mostly in the arts.

– We have increased the proportion of funding for artistic work. As there were more multi-year grants in academic disciplines, however, these will see a greater proportion of the benefit in coming years, explains Antti Arjava.

The success rate of applications in academic disciplines was 13% when measured in quantity, or 10% in euros, compared to 10% and 8% for the arts. This made the success rate similar to the previous year’s in academia, but slightly lower in the arts. There were differences between specific disciplines, however, due to donations received by the Cultural Foundation. The proportion of applicants from Helsinki rose to 51% of grantees and 41% of total applicants.

Women made up 57% of grantees in academic disciplines and 61% in the arts, which means that in both types of grants the proportion of women is slightly higher among successful applicants than among applicants as a whole. Non-Finnish citizens accounted for 12% of applicants and 13% of grantees. Grants from the October round were awarded to applicants in around 90 municipalities in Finland. The regional funds’ grants will be given out later in the spring, based on the January round of applications.

Six Eminentia grants

The Cultural Foundation’s Eminentia grants are intended for reflective writing about the applicant’s scientific or artistic lifework or experience, for promotion of interaction between science and the arts, or for proactive work to promote the importance of culture in society.

– Eminentia grants are an opportunity for grantees to share the expertise they have garnered with others, also across academic and artistic disciplines, says Jari Sokka. Markku Kanninen (PhD, Agriculture and Forestry) was awarded an Eminentia grant for writing a book about deforestation, changes in forests and the consequences of this for the climate, nature and the future of humanity. The other Eminentia grants, for EUR 25,000 each, went to circus researcher Markku Aulanko, industrial designer Hannu Kähönen, Silja Rantanen (Doctor of Fine Arts), Hannu Saha (PhD) and professor emerita Irma Sulkunen.

Regional fund grants to be awarded in spring; Art2 grants open for application in March

The Cultural Foundation received 9,700 applications in its October round. In academic disciplines, the number of applicants was on a level with the previous year, while in the arts it grew by 10%. Additional coronavirus-related funding was sought by 380 applicants; this was already decided upon in December, and it was granted to 53 autonomous artistic communities, for a grand total of EUR 1.5 million.

In 2021, the Cultural Foundation will distribute approximately EUR 44 million in grants. EUR 25 million was paid out now based on the October round of applications, and a further EUR 13 million will go out from the regional funds based on the January round. The rest will be awarded via the Post Doc Pool and the March and August application rounds.

The March round will invite applications for, among others, the Art2 grants, which support high-quality, meaningful art projects that aim to increase audience numbers. Additionally, the foundation uses its assets for the benefit of culture through diverse initiatives, the largest of which is currently Art Testers. The foundation’s total funding for culture during the operating year will reach approximately EUR 50 million.

You can find all the Grantees of October 2021 Round here.