The Society for Cultural Policy Research in Finland invites researchers, students, cultural professionals and policymakers to the XIII Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research, taking place in Seinäjoki on 8–9 April 2027. Organised in collaboration with the Seinäjoki unit of the University of the Arts Helsinki, the conference explores the societal relations and interactions of cultural policy. The conference provides a forum for examining existing and possible relationships of arts and culture, as well as their wider societal significance and impact. The local operating environments and collaborative networks of Seinäjoki offer concrete examples of the different dimensions of interaction, creating a setting for gathering and forging new connections around arts, culture, and research. Read the full call for proposals here.

Propose a Panel or Individual Paper

We welcome proposals for both individual papers and sessions. Proposals may be theoretical or empirical and may address cultural policy from either research-based or practice-oriented perspectives.

Papers and panels may address, for example, the following themes:

• Agency, hierarchies, and power in cultural policy
• Cultural policy as relations and negotiation
• Interactions and interdependencies within the cultural sector and cultural practices
• Diverse, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral forms of collaboration
• The impact of arts and culture at different levels
• Situated relations and diverse localities as contexts for interaction
• The role of art and culture in urban and regional development and policy
• Heritage policy as relations and interaction
• Art, culture, and cultural policy in shaping relations within ecological sustainability transformations
• Multispecies relations in cultural policy and practice
• New materialist and posthumanist perspectives on cultural policy relations
• The roles, possibilities, and challenges of culture in times of polycrisis
• Systems and network theories as approaches to artistic and cultural activity and policy

We equally welcome proposals that approach the conference theme from other perspectives.

Panel proposals should be 250–300 words long and include the panel title, topic, chair(s), proposed presenters, and the topics of their papers. Panels may be conducted in Finnish, Swedish or English. Each panel accommodates 3–4 papers. Proposals may also be submitted when not all presenters have yet been confirmed.

Individual paper proposals should be 250–300 words long and include the paper title, topic, and the presenter’s contact details. Papers may be presented in Finnish, Swedish or English.

The submission period for panel and paper proposals is 21 October–30 November 2026. Please send your proposal by email to kulttuuripolitiikan.t.seura@gmail.com.

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