Seven national arts councils will be responsible for distributing national grants, subsidies and awards in 2015-16 in FInland. Each national arts council will have 9 to 12 members.
To prepare the peer reviews within each field of the arts, 14 subcommittees will also be appointed in connection with the national arts councils. The subcommittees will support the work of the national arts councils and strengthen their expertise in the specific fields of the arts. Members of the national arts councils and other art experts may be appointed to the subcommittees.
National arts councils 2015-16
•National Council for Architecture, Design and Environmental Art, which will cover the fields of architecture, design, environmental art and landscape architecture. The council will have a chairperson and nine other members. The council will have two subcommittees, for architecture and design, which will prepare peer reviews.
•National Council for Audiovisual Art, which will cover the fields of cinema, media art, and light and sound art. The council will have a chairperson and ten other members. The council will have three subcommittees, for cinema, media art, and light and sound art, which will prepare peer reviews.
•National Council for the Performing Arts, which will cover the fields of theatre, performance and live art, dance and circus. The council will have a chairperson and eleven other members. The council will have four subcommittees, for theatre, performance and live art, dance and circus, which will prepare peer reviews.
•National Council for Literature, which will cover the fields of literature and art journalism. The council will have a chairperson and ten other members. Two of the members will be Swedish-speaking Finns. A subcommittee for art journalism will prepare peer reviews.
•National Council for Music, which will cover the field of music. The council will have a chairperson and eight other members.
•National Council for the Visual Arts, which will cover the fields of visual art, photographic art, and comics and illustrations. The council will have a chairperson and eleven other members. The council will have three subcommittees, for visual art, photographic art, and comics and illustrations, which will prepare peer reviews.
•National Council for Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary and International Art, which will cover the fields of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and international art, as well as multiculturalism and cultural events. The council will have a chairperson and eight other members. Six of the members will be representatives of other arts councils. A subcommittee for multiculturalism will prepare peer reviews.
“With the new national arts councils, the Central Arts Council wants to encourage more active collaboration between different fields of the arts,” comments Tiina Rosenberg, Chair of the Central Arts Council.
In order to appoint the members of both the national and regional arts councils, the Central Arts Council requests candidates to be nominated by 30 August.
The names and roles of the thirteen regional arts councils are stipulated by law. The number of members in each regional arts council will be between 7 and 12 including the chairperson as stipulated by the Central Arts Council.
Regional arts councils 2015-16
•Arts Council of Central Finland, 8 members
•Arts Council of Häme, 9 members
•Arts Council of Lapland, 9 members
•Arts Council of North Karelia, 7 members
•Arts Council of North Savo, 8 members
•Arts Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and Kainuu, 9 members
•Arts Council of Ostrobothnia, 9 members
•Arts Council of Pirkanmaa, 9 members
•Arts Council of Satakunta, 7 members
•Arts Council of South Savo, 7 members
•Arts Council of Southeast Finland, 9 members
•Arts Council of Uusimaa, 12 members
•Arts Council of Varsinais-Suomi, 9 members
The national and regional arts councils are expert bodies of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland that make decisions regarding the awarding of grants and awards for artists, artist groups and organisations within their own area of responsibility on the basis of peer reviews. Each year the national arts councils process over 9000 applications and the regional arts councils over 4400 applications addressed to the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
The names and roles of the arts councils do not affect the allocation of funding for each field of the arts. Each year the Arts Promotion Centre Finland allocates 30 million euros on average to support the arts. Approximately two-thirds of this amount are covered by national lottery and betting funds. The forms of support are stipulated in the state budget.
The Central Arts Council is the expert body of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland that makes decisions regarding the number of national arts councils, their names and their roles. It also appoints the members of the national and regional arts councils.
Further information: Minna Sirnö, Director, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, t. +358 295 330 719, [email protected]