An executive summary of a report that examines the development of state support for artists in Finland from the late 1960s, when the Promotion of the Arts Act and the Artists’ Grant Act were adopted, up to the present. The study covers both direct and indirect support for artists.
In the late 1960s, the implementation of the Nordic welfare state in the field of cultural politics established a legislated support system for artists, including the system of arts councils for its administration. The system has been very stable during the past forty years. Though several new support schemes have been introduced, the ones formulated by the State Art Committee in 1965 still constitute the core as measured in economic terms or in terms of prestige. The policy of support for artists generally gives the impression of a citadel protected from the changing trends of the wider cultural politics. Does the system have the capacity to change as much as is needed due to changes in the fields of art? That is the decisive issue in the future development of the Finnish model of promoting artists.