Research project Page last updated 7.3.2025

As an artist in Finland

  • Duration of the project: 2020

 

As an artist in Finland is an ongoing research project examining the situation and societal position of professional artists working in Finland. 

Cupore conducts the research in collaboration with the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and Statistics Finland. Throughout various phases of the study, additional cooperation takes place with artists’ organizations and grant making foundations. 

The goal of the research is to establish a broad and diverse knowledge base on the professional community of artists, their working conditions, and their societal position in Finland across different fields of art. 

In this study, the professional community of artists is examined through register data. The primary data source is Statistics Finland’s registers, which cover the entire population of Finland. These registers are refined and supplemented with data from the artists’ organizations and grant making foundations collaborating on the project. 

The professional artists are identified in the dataset based on four criteria: 

  • Membership in a professional or interest organization 
  • Receipt of copy right compensation for artistic work 
  • Artistic education, and 
  • Receipt of a peer reviewed grant. 

The As an artist in Finland dataset also supports other Cupore research projects and special studies related to artist policy issues. These include, for example, Infrastructure as a Success Factor in the Visual Arts (to be conducted in 2025), the annual Arts and Culture Barometer survey, and a broader analysis of how public funding is distributed across different artistic disciplines and sectors. 

The As an artist in Finland research project results in the publication of statistical reviews, working papers, and research reports. The results are published on Cupore’s website, where they are freely available for download. 

In 2025, the project team includes senior researchers Maria Hirvi-Ijäs (lead), Sakarias Sokka, and Vappu Renko, as well as researchers Emmi Lahtinen and Aino Leppänen.

 

Project researchers