Local authority cultural activity

They may produce public cultural services themselves, or in collaboration with the third or the private sector. The various sectors of the local authority often work together to produce these services, or municipalities may produce cultural services jointly with other municipalities.  

The local authorities provide support for those involved in the arts and culture in the form of various grants, and they may even co-finance development projects in the sector.

The Municipal Cultural Activities Act

Local authorities do their part in organising cultural activities, and their efforts are governed by law (166/2019). The Act has many objectives. It seeks to support the opportunities for creative expression and activity and for making and experiencing art and culture. It strives to foster the equal opportunities of all population groups to engage in art, culture and education. It should improve the local residents’ wellbeing and health along with their inclusion and community engagement. Finally, the Act seeks to create the right conditions for enhancing the vitality of the local area.

•  Act on Cultural Activities in Local Government (166/2019)

It is part of a local authority’s responsibility to organise cultural activities. To achieve this objective, local authorities promote equal and diverse access to arts and culture. They lay the foundation for professional artistic endeavour, promote art- and culture-related leisure activities, offer opportunities for goal-oriented education in arts and culture, and advance the preservation of cultural heritage. For local authorities, promotion of arts and culture is also part of their contribution to the residents’ health and wellbeing, inclusion and community engagement, local and regional vitality, cultural interaction and international activities.

In organising cultural activities, local authorities should consider the characteristics and resources of their area and the needs of the population groups. They may organise activities independently or in cooperation with other local authorities or in some other manner.  Each local authority should have adequate and diverse expertise for organising cultural activities.

The Municipal Cultural Activities Act includes provisions on the central government authorities’ duties, participation of local residents, development duties, cooperation, providing and evaluating data, and central government transfers to local government.

Provisions regarding the local authorities’ cultural activities have existed since 1981, when the Municipal Cultural Activities Act first entered into force.

How cultural activities are funded: central government transfers and discretionary grants to local government

The central government’s contribution is based on central government transfers to local government, paid through the Ministry of Finance, which cover part of the funding for cultural activities. The purpose of the system of central government transfers to local government is to guarantee the availability of public services and to balance out differences between municipalities when it comes to the costs for arranging the services. Local authorities may use their discretion in allocating the central government transfers they receive.

Before 2018, municipalities received discretionary government grants for cultural development and pilot projects. In 2019, new legislation on municipal cultural activities came into effect. From 2019 to 2023, grants were awarded, for example, for national and regional development tasks that enabled better implementation of the activities. The implementation needed to be effective and promote equality, for example by enhancing the quality of the activities or staff competence.

Since 2024, no new development grants have been awarded. However, some development tasks funded in 2023 will continue until the end of 2025 or 2026.

Providing and evaluating data

The Act includes provisions on providing and evaluating data on the local authorities’ cultural activities. The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for overseeing the development of national data provision and evaluation of activities. Local authorities will contribute to the evaluation of their basic public services and, where necessary, to the provision of other data. They are responsible for providing and evaluating data on the cultural activities they have organised.

The evaluation of basic public services covers access to cultural services and their accessibility, financial resources used for organising cultural services, and the people employed in general cultural activities. Other areas may be evaluated according to need. Evaluation takes place every two years, both nationally and regionally.

The groundwork for evaluating the provision of basic cultural services was laid in 2012 when the ‘Culture on the Map’ study was published. The first evaluation of basic cultural services was also published in the same year. The ‘Culture on the Map’ was linked to the University of Jyväskylä’s KUULTO project, which aims to improve access to cultural services and their accessibility, and to boost equality among local residents. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare produced a new tool, Cultural TEAviisari, which was first deployed in 2019. It provides data on cultural activities organised by local authorities, focusing on action to promote health and wellbeing.