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Grants
October Round is on
10.10.2023
Kulttuurirahaston vihreä paperikassi roikkumassa tammen oksassa.
Photo: Maija Astikainen
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The Finnish Cultural Foundation’s October round of applications will be open between 10 and 31 October 2023 until 16:00. Besides working and expenditure grants, funding is available for various special purposes.

The Finnish Cultural Foundation supports science, art and culture with over EUR 50 million every year, of which about EUR 30 million is open for applications this October. Typically, the Foundation receives over 9,000 applications in the October round. Some 10 per cent are successful. 

Applications are welcomed from any field of science or arts, either for the work itself or to cover expenses. Academic grants are directed particularly at doctoral theses and postdoctoral academic work. Artists may apply for grants for work or projects, while artistic communities may apply for cultural projects. The Finnish Cultural Foundation is also happy to accept applications for large-scale, multi-year projects. 

Besides the regular grants, applications can be made for a specific purpose grant. The October round includes several new special purpose grants. A total of EUR 1 million will be available until 2030 to support the revitalisation of the Finnish Romani language and Romani art and culture. The Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant will support research related for example to art collecting. In this October round, the Additional Million-euro Funding for Science will support research on Finland's competitiveness. 

"Many fields in the arts particularly are sounding an alarm about the difficult financial situation. The Finnish Cultural Foundation cannot fill the gaps in public funding, but we still encourage artists to persevere and build even far-reaching, large projects," says Juhana Lassila, the Foundation’s representative for grants and culture. 

The Foundation is looking to increase the number of multi-year working grants. Applications may be made for as many as four years at a time. The annual grant sum has been raised to EUR 30,000 (EUR 34,000 for the postdoc stage). 

Familiar and new special purpose grants in October  

Besides working and expenditure grants, diverse special-purpose grants are available for specific themes and areas. 

Support for Romani Language and Culture  

The Finnish Romani language and culture will be supported through a new special purpose grant. You can apply for a grant for preparing educational materials for the Romani language, written work in the Romani language, translating literature into the Romani language, researching the Romani language and developing materials that support the Romani language revitalization. "The Foundation has awarded grants for Roma culture every year, but now it will receive a more solid and long-term support," says Juhana Lassila.  

Read more about support for Romani Language and Culture  

Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant  

The Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant from the Juhani Kirpilä fund is available for application for the first time. The grant is intended for PhDs for research, the topic of which may be related to collecting art, collectors' collections, memorial houses or artists in the collection of the Kirpilä Art Collection. "The Juhani Kirpilä Fund maintains the Kirpilä Art Collection and also provides substantial support for the work of artists and researchers. With the new grant, we want to focus on research into collecting and domestic 20th-century art, and thus accumulate knowledge on topics that Kirpilä considered important," says Johanna Ruohonen, the Senior Advisor in charge of the grant and Museum Director of Taidekoti Kirpilä. 

Read more about the Kirpilä Art Collection Research Grant 

Additional million for science: Finland’s competitiveness in industry, business or creative fields 

The Finnish Cultural Foundation will award EUR 1 million under the theme 'Finland’s competitiveness in industry, business or creative fields'. The funding will be used to support no more than five research projects. Eligible applicants include working groups. Universities and research institutions, however, are ineligible. 

Read more about the additional million 

Discover Science 

The Finnish Cultural Foundation wants to encourage the interest of children and adolescents in science, regardless of their place of residence and background, and to improve their ability to acquire, handle and evaluate new information. Discover Science grants can be up to EUR 150,000, and altogether EUR 600,000 will be rewarded in grants.  

Read more about the Discover Science grants 

Art for Everyone 

The Art for Everyone grant is aimed at increasing the opportunities of people in need of care or support to experience high-quality art and, in this manner, promoting cultural equality. The grant is available to artists, work groups and professional, registered art associations.  

Read more about the Art for Everyone grants 

Eminentia 

Each year, the Finnish Cultural Foundation gives out one or more Eminentia grants to scientific researchers and artists who are approaching the end of their careers. A prerequisite for the Eminentia grant is that the resulting work be published in writing as a book, online publication or a series of articles. The grant size is EUR 25,000. 

Read more about the Eminentia grants 

Ask about applications in our webinar 

Information webinars on the October round of applications will be held via Zoom, in Finnish on Wednesday 11 October between 2pm and 3.30 pm and in English on Thursday 12 October between 2pm and 3.30 pm. Experts from the Finnish Cultural Foundation will present the different grant types and give tips on making a good application. The webinars are open to all, and attendees will be able to ask questions from the speakers. 

Join the webinar here. 

Recordings of the webinars will be released later on the Finnish Cultural Foundation's YouTube channel. 

Useful links 

 

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