Propose a presentation or session for the Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research
The XI Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research will be held in Joensuu in the University of Eastern Finland on 24-25 April 2025. The theme of the conference in 2025 is The Work and Economy of Culture.
In 2020s Finland, the significance of culture is often justified by economic measures — so-called “hard numbers.” When cultural actors strive to demonstrate the societal importance of their work, topics such as the turnover of the arts and culture sector, its share of the gross domestic product, or the number of employed individuals are brought to the forefront of communication. In public discussions, economic figures related to culture receive attention and spark debate—especially in the polarized atmosphere of social media, where opinions on public funding for the arts and culture often become intensified.
What do the economic figures circulating in the media tell us about the value of culture? Are the figures presented impactful, or do they fall short in defending the significance of arts and culture? What about art and culture that do not produce measurable or substantial economic value—can we still recognize its worth through other measures? Must culture and art, for instance, generate well-being, community, or experiences of meaning to be considered valuable and socially acknowledged? Or is there still room in contemporary discussions for the traditional concept of art’s intrinsic value or ideals of civilization and cultural democracy?
Alongside the economy, the work and working life in the arts and culture sectors are changing and developing. A typical feature of arts and cultural work is the diversity of job content and ways of doing and organizing work, as various artistic traditions and structures create very different starting points for work and its organization. Professionals in the arts and culture sectors often have a strong sense of engagement and meaningfulness in their work. At the same time, uncertainty regarding employment and income, as well as the experience of lacking societal appreciation, burdens many. The increase in atypical employment relationships and precarious work has long been common in the arts and culture sectors, challenging traditional support systems in the labor market and strongly linking to questions of occupational well-being.
At the 2025 Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research, we will examine the diverse economies and forms of work in culture and the arts. We will not focus solely on economic figures; we also want to better understand how the economy is defined, experienced, and lived within the fields of art and culture, as well as in arts and cultural work. Do we understand the economy narrowly as monetary transactions, wages, fees, and prices of artworks, or could we also view culture and art more broadly as areas of human exchange, cooperation, and organization?
What tensions does framing art and culture as economic phenomena evoke? And conversely, how might the unique practices of art and culture lead us to think differently about the economy and challenge established notions of economic rationality?
We invite proposals for sessions and presentations that address the diverse connections between culture, working life, economy, and politics. Suitable topics include, for example:
- Intersections of cultural policy and economic policy and funding prospects for arts and culture
- The future of work in creative fields and new forms of employment
- Diversity of employment relationships, working methods, and earning models in creative fields
- Challenges and opportunities of platform capitalism for cultural and artistic work
- New models of organization and cooperation in the cultural sector
- Networks of work and exchange in cultural events
- Measuring the economic impacts of culture and its challenges
- Ecological sustainability of cultural work and economies
- National cultural economies in the context of the global economy
We also welcome sessions and presentations that examine cultural work and economy from perspectives other than those mentioned above.
Proposals for presentations and workshops should be submitted by December 15, 2024, to: kulttuuripolitiikan.t.seura@gmail.com.
Session Proposals
The length of the session proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the workshop title, topic, chair(s), as well as the proposed presenters and their topics. The language of the sessions can be Finnish, Swedish, or English. Sessions (each accommodating 3-4 presentations) can be proposed even if the presenter does not yet know all the presentations coming to the group.
Presentation Proposals
The length of an individual presentation proposal should be 250-300 words and must include the presentation title, topic, and the contact information of the presenter. The language of the presentations can be Finnish, Swedish, or English.
All presenters are encouraged to shape their presentations into articles and submit their manuscripts for publication in the Yearbook of Cultural Policy Research (Kulttuuripolitiikan tutkimuksen vuosikirja).
The Finnish Conference on Cultural Policy Research offer an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary meeting place for those interested in the phenomena of cultural policy. The 2025 conference is organized by the Society for Cultural Policy Research in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland.
For more information, visit: https://kulttuuripolitiikantutkimus.fi/en/finnish-conference-on-cultural-policy-research/