Project Description
An increasingly significant part of the activities of the field of performing arts takes place outside of conventional forms of organization and institutions, in the so-called free field. New forms of expression, making and production and actors are constantly emerging in the field of performing arts.
The number of artists has increased, the field of actors has diversified, the practices of making art have changed and the gap between the arts has increased. Art is produced more and more often as joint productions with the combined effect of many different partners and financiers. New forms and actors of expression, making and production are constantly emerging.
The newest newcomers to the art ecosystem are various production platforms. Production platform is not yet an established concept in the field, but the word is used to describe new art production organizations and operating methods. Different production platforms are united by the fact that they do not have their own artistic staff. They support artistic-production work in different ways and enable the productions of different artists or groups of artists. The need for production platforms and new methods of operation has arisen because of the substantive issues of art and the changing field of artists, but also because the structures of art and their funding are changing significantly.
Arts Management Helsinki acts as a common production platform for forty independent artists and an enabler of artistic work. It strives towards a fair and equal working life for artists by offering a working community and a support structure that makes working as an artist more meaningful and safer. The operation of the production platform is divided into three areas: personal services for artists, preparatory work for productions, and community activities.
In 2022, Arts Management Helsinki will develop the operation of the production platform with structural support granted by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The development project expands the already existing production platform operation in such a way that it is scaled to a larger number of artists and its operational structure is diversified. Through the project, it is possible to establish the production platform model as part of the free field of art.
Possibilities of the production platform model
Scaling of current operation:
In 2021, Arts Management Helsinki’s production platform has been the operating environment of forty freelance artists. At the beginning of 2022, the number of members of the artist community will be increased to fifty.
In addition to dance and performance art, the production platform model can also be applied to other art fields.
Production platform for free small groups:
The field outside the institutions is not only made up of individual artists, but also of independent groups of various sizes. Small groups operating with discretionary support or without any permanent support operate at a high artistic level, but organizationally weak. There are not enough resources for the professional production of the groups and the administration is usually handled in an amateurish manner. The operation cannot develop.
Supporting new organizational models:
The structures of the work mean different things to different artists. For some, structure means a social security number and operational liability insurance, while for others, work structure is a work schedule that supports their own work methods, a specific work method or agreed rules of the game. Not all artists strive to consolidate group-based activities into an association-based small group with a specific artistic vision or style of expression.
The production platform can be a growth platform and a framework for new organizational models of artistic work.
Increasing production skills:
There is a chronic lack of producers in the free art field. One significant reason for this is the lack of practical working conditions (thin structures, limited financial resources, precarious workplace). Permanence of producers in the field can be supported through mentoring, peer support and professional development.
Structural support for culture and creative industries (2022)
Finland’s sustainable growth program invests in the rise of culture and creative industries and their sustainable renewal. In December 2021, the Ministry of Education and Culture has granted four million euros in state grants to actors in the cultural and creative fields for the development of innovative services and production and operating models. The grant application was the first part of the Ministry’s 30 million euro structural support for the renewal of cultural and creative industries.
184 applications were received by the deadline. Support was awarded to 20 projects representing the audiovisual and film industries, architecture, performing arts (music, theater, dance, circus), design, museums and cultural heritage, and visual arts. The projects also extensively promote the development of services in the field of culture, cultural exports, and the management and utilization of copyright information.
Arts Management Helsinki is one of the recipients of structural support.
Arts Management Helsinki applied for and received structural support for the expansion of production platform operations in the free field of art in 2022. It is a development project that renews art production and operating methods.
More information about the structural support:
https://okm.fi/-/kulttuuri-ja-luovien-alojen-uudistumisen-rakennetuki
Contact person at Arts Management Helsinki:
Outi Järvinen
outi@artsmanagement.fi
Evaluation
Arts Management Helsinki commissioned an external evaluation of the development project from Anna Anttila, ph.D., docent. The evaluation is available from this link.
