Art ecosystem

On this page you find the Art Ecosystem infographic, which you can download as a PDF file for your own use. You will also find the alternative infographic texts and list of links below the introduction.

The Art Ecosystem is edited by producer, educator and art critic, MA Tuuli Penttinen-Lampisuo, Poike Productio, 2025.

Content:

Link to the Art Ecosystem Infographic
Introduction to the Art Ecosystem infographic
Infographic texts and list of links as text alternatives

Link to the Art Ecosystem Infographic

Below you will find the link to the Art Ecosystem infographic. The infographic opens on the same browser page, but you can also choose to download it or open it in a new tab.

Art Ecosystem Infographic (pdf)

Introduction to the Art Ecosystem infographic

The art ecosystem outlines all the different roles artists, art and culture play in Finnish society and beyond. The infographic is available as a PDF and includes links that guide you to further information – articles in the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Art Pro resource bank and external websites.

The infographic also contains gaps. Not all artistic activity is organised hierarchically in such a way that a single top-level website or actor could gather all relevant organisations – examples include orchestras or cooperatives in Finland’s creative sectors. A significant gap exists in the so-called intermediary sector and in the area of creative economy enterprises. Information about these actors is especially fragmented and would require its own resource bank.

In the infographic, the art ecosystem is illustrated as a buzzing sphere resembling a beehive, where an artist weaves in and out of different roles over the course of their life and often performs several roles simultaneously. This multifaceted agency is shaped by continuous self-development, networking, involvement in organisations, societal changes, varied income sources and earning models, as well as creative work that seeks new directions at different stages of a career.

The ecosystem aims to present art and artistic identity more broadly than traditional concepts such as sector, field or industry. In the infographic, the art ecosystem is divided into five components: artists, close networks, expertise, enablers and the public sector. Factors influencing Finland’s art ecosystem include audience behaviour, the resilience of the welfare state, digitisation, the international economy and treaties, the state of democracy and human rights, and planetary boundaries.

Within the ecosystem, influence is multidirectional. Artists, artworks and artistic expertise affect individuals, audiences, well-being and civil society. Art influences the development of digital and democratic power, freedom of expression, markets, international relations and the preservation of nature. An ecosystemic shift may begin with an artwork the size of a microbe.

We hope the Art Ecosystem appears to you as a vision full of possibilities!

Infographic texts and list of links as text alternatives

The art ecosystem is a summary of all the different ways artists, art and culture interact with the Finnish society.

Artists and the Arts

There are an estimated 25,000 professional artists in Finland. Research determines professionalism in the arts through factors such as an artist’s education, received grants, memberships in associations, and compensation paid for their artistic work. An artistic career might begin during childhood, such as in the case of an actor, and engagement in the arts often continues well into retirement. Independent artist, grant-funded artist, freelancer, entrepreneur, light entrepreneur, employee – many artistic careers are shaped by a combination of these roles, either simultaneously or sequentially.

Artist’s Inner Circle

For artists, the role of colleagues and personal networks is significant. Many join artists’ associations through field-specific or regional unions. The unions promote the interests of artists and provide legal counselling and channels to exert influence. Many independent associations also organise art events and activities related to performing, exhibitions, distribution, residency and training. Finland’s national network of artist associations is called Forum Artis.

By joining a copyright organisation, artists can authorise the organisation to manage their copyrights, supervise the use of their works, grant licences to their works, and collect and distribute royalties.

Artist’s Qualifications

Artists may have formal qualifications or degrees in the arts, while others are self-taught or learn their discipline through non-formal training. For professional artists, the educational field offers both supplementary training and job opportunities.

Basic Education in the Arts is provided through the art studies offered to children and young people outside the school curriculum. Artists can work as teachers providing such basic education or operate a dance school, for example.

Institutes of higher education – universities of applied sciences, research universities, and the University of the Arts – provide education and carry out research in the fields of arts, art education, creative industries, culture, and the media.

Artist’s Income

Artists earn their living by creating art and performing, selling their works, from royalties, grants and scholarships, and through employment and self-employment. It is typical for earnings to vary and occur from different sources simultaneously. For artists doing gig or project work, short periods of unemployment are also common. Wages can be earned in the field of performing arts, for example, through permanent employment or freelance engagements with numerous entities, from providing art-related wellbeing services in care facilities, teaching and training work, various expert and design tasks, and work in other sectors.

Grants and scholarships have a particularly significant role in the fields where there are no art institutions offering paid work. The amount and periods of working grants vary between funders.

Artist’s Taxation and Social Security

An artist pays taxes on their wages and remuneration according to their tax card. Working grants are tax-exempt up to a certain amount. When selling works and services, an artist must pay value-added tax if their annual sales revenue exceeds the VAT threshold.

Social security provides support if a person cannot earn their living independently, for reasons such as studies, illness, unemployment or having a child. If an artist’s ability to work is reduced because of an injury or illness, they can be granted a disability pension. The amount of the pension is affected by compensation paid for work. For example, royalties are not compensation paid for work and therefore do not affect the amount of disability pension.

For an artist in salaried employment, the employer pays the earnings-related pension insurance contributions (TyEL). The recipient of a working grant for a period lasting at least four months must take out MYEL pension insurance. A self-employed artist must take out self-employed pension insurance (YEL) once their earnings exceed the income threshold. Pension insurance entitles an artist to a pension, and protection against occupational accidents or illness. It is possible to have several pension insurance policies at the same time. Being employed or having self-employed pension insurance (YEL) does not remove the obligation to take out MYEL insurance for a grant period.

An artist may also be granted a supplementary artist’s pension in recognition of an outstanding contribution to art.

Enablers of the Arts

Commissioners, producers, funders, promoters, publishers, distributors, brokers, exporters and sellers of art, and those communicating on art form a diverse group of national institutions, regional and local museums, orchestras, theatres and festivals, expert organisations working in the background, non-profit organisations, associations and communities as well as companies of different sizes, from the state broadcasting company Yle to companies with just a few employees. Together, they form the so-called intermediary layer of art and culture.

Most employment opportunities for artists are found in the music and performing arts industries. Large institutional employers include national and regional theatres and orchestras, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Private foundations and funds support art and culture with tens of millions of euros every year. Those fields that receive the most support from foundations are music, literature, visual arts, performing arts and cinema.

Leader groups, or local action groups, promote the vitality and wellbeing of rural areas. Leader funding can be granted for, among other things, business development, renovating cultural spaces, or starting international activities. The funding decisions are confirmed by ELY Centres.

Art and the Public Sector

The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for areas including research, education and early childhood education; art and culture; archives, museums and public libraries; religious communities; and copyright. The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) is an expert and service agency operating under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Taike promotes art nationally and internationally.

The Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVI) promote regional equality. The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres) develop regions by improving the conditions to produce art and culture services, in order to enhance the availability, accessibility and diversity of art. ELY Centres process all project applications for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in Finland.

Regional councils are joint municipal authorities with two primary statutory tasks: regional development and regional land use planning. Many regional councils also have their own cultural strategy and even funding for developing creative industries.

The Åland Islands and the Sámi Homeland have their own structures that support regional art and culture, and promote international and Nordic collaboration.

All Finnish municipalities have their own library and a statutory obligation to provide cultural activities. Municipalities create the conditions for artistic work and activities. They maintain culture centres, museums, theatres, choirs and orchestras, in addition to funding grants, employing artists and providing spaces for different operators. Municipalities promote the availability, internationality, and wellbeing benefits of art and culture, and offer art and cultural education as well. Municipalities and the organisations operating within them can receive government grants and subsidies for their cultural activities.

Audiences

The customers, audiences and users of art include buyers, commissioners, borrowers and renters of works; the audiences of exhibits, performances and events; customers of institutions; audiences of architectural and public works; readers, listeners, players and viewers of reproducible art; pupils and students; purchasers of ancillary products or services; consumers of licenced works of arts; patrons; crowdfunding backers; art tourists; fans; followers of social media accounts, websites and online streams; online customers; subscribers of digital content; etc.

Internationality

The European Union safeguards common cultural heritage, supports the arts and creative industries, and designates European Capitals of Culture. The EU’s Creative Europe programme supports the arts and the audiovisual and creative sectors. The Finnish Film Foundation and the Finnish National Agency for Education work as contact points for Creative Europe, and provide information on funding opportunities and advice to applicants. Culture is also included in other EU policies, such as those relating to education, research, social policy, regional development and foreign affairs.

Joint Nordic projects, study trips and networking in the field of art and culture are supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, the Nordic Culture Point, and the Nordic Culture Fund, among others. The Hanaholmen cultural centre manages bilateral Nordic funds and the Nordic Council issues artistic and cultural awards. Cultural and artistic collaboration targeted at Estonia is supported by the Finnish-Estonian Cultural Foundation.

Finland has 17 cultural and research institutes that promote the international mobility, visibility, and collaboration of art, culture and research around the globe. Many cultural and research institutes, artists’ associations and foundations offer international residencies that artists can apply for to increase their skills and networks.

The links attached to the infographic (in alphabetical order)

Academy of Fine Arts: https://www.uniarts.fi/en/units/academy-of-fine-arts/

Accessibility and diversity of culture: https://artpro.uniarts.fi/en/material/abc-of-accessible-communication/

Aland Island’s special status: https://um.fi/the-special-status-of-the-aland-islands

ArchInfo: https://www.archinfo.fi/en

Art forms as a concept in the General Finnish Ontology: https://finto.fi/yso/en/page/p20653

Art Pro Finland resource bank: https://artpro.uniarts.fi/en/

Art subjects in primary and secondary school: https://artpro.uniarts.fi/en/art-subjects-in-primary-and-secondary-school/

Artists as a concept in the General Finnish Ontology: https://finto.fi/yso/en/page/p7017

Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike): https://www.taike.fi/en

As an artist in Finland: https://www.cupore.fi/en/research/as-an-artist-in-finland/

Audiovisual culture: https://okm.fi/en/audiovisual-culture