Julkaisu Minna Ruusuvirta, Emmi Lahtinen, Aino Leppänen, Kaija Rensujeff

Arts and Culture Barometer 2025

International Activities of Artists

The theme of the Arts and Culture Barometer 2025 is the international activities of artists. The material for the barometer was compiled from a survey conducted in 2025. A total of 1 286 artists representing different fields of the arts responded to the survey. International activities refer in the report to both activities outside Finland and activities in which the artist is active or works internationally in or from Finland without travelling outside Finland.

Results in brief

  • The international activities of artists are widespread and diverse. The majority of artists have worked internationally during their careers, and nearly half did so in 2024, according to the survey.
  • In 2024, the mobility of artists was mainly directed towards Europe, especially the Nordic countries and Central Europe.
  • Residencies are a key form of internationalisation: they support the formation of international contacts and networks in particular and are an important starting point for many artists in international activities.
  • Artists are motivated to work internationally by opportunities to develop as artists, learn new things and expand their audiences, but also by financial and career-related factors.
  • The biggest obstacles to international work were poor livelihoods, lack of funding and a lack of intermediaries, such as agents and gallerists. A lack of networks, knowledge and expertise, as well as individual life situations, also limit the international activities of artists.
  • International activities are seen among artists as both an opportunity and, to some extent, a necessity for securing livelihoods and the continuity of their artistic work.
  • Utilising the opportunities presented by international activities requires stronger and more long-term funding and support structures than currently available, taking into account different actors and operational structures, as well as the specific characteristics of different fields of the arts and international activities.

Research

Project researchers