The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland was founded in 1991. It is a non-profit, private foundation funded by The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The Institute is one of the 17 Finnish Cultural and Academic Institutes.
The Institute is also a member of EUNIC London, network of the EU national cultural institutes in London.
Malin Groop, Chair
Mari K Niemi
Jeremiah Tesolin
Rebecca Walton
John Webster
Heli Suominen
Diverse, Inclusive and Impactful – Fostering cultural connection for over 30 years
For more than three decades, the Finnish Institute has served as a vital link between Finland, the UK, and Ireland. As the leading expert on Finnish culture and society, we are dedicated to fostering meaningful connections through:
Artist exchange –Residencies, co-productions, creative collaboration and showcasing emerging Finnish cultural professionals.
Cultural dialogue – Creating meaningful encounters and connections, facilitating conversations on social issues, shared values, and contemporary challenges.
Networking – Bringing together artists, creative practitioners, cultural organisations and policymakers.
Enable progressive personal and societal change through art and culture.
Enrich and diversify connections and spark dialogue between cultural professionals in Finland, the UK and Ireland, with the focus on performing arts, contemporary art and societal matters.
Create opportunities and foster collaborations between cultural professionals, organisations, and universities across our regions.
Strengthen the ties between Finland, the UK and Ireland while enriching the cultural landscape of each region.
Our goal is to position culture as a catalyst for positive social change, bridging divisions and fostering a more just, equitable future. We achieve this by:
Building Bridges – We connect artists, organisations, and thought leaders across Finland, the UK, and Ireland to share knowledge and best practices to tackle joint challenges.
Igniting Innovation – Through dialogue, residencies, and collaborative projects, we nurture creative solutions and raise awareness to tackle urgent social issues.
Empowering Voices – We champion diverse perspectives, personal and lived experiences, fostering a more inclusive cultural landscape for all.
Our concrete focus areas for the strategy period 2024–2026 are:
Strategic programme development
Working with performing arts, contemporary art and societal matters within arts, culture and design.
Identifying cultural professionals on the cusp of international recognition, and offering support through –
Mentoring: Connecting emerging creatives with relevant local professionals for career development
Networking: Fostering connections with relevant actors in arts, culture and society.
Knowledge sharing on international collaboration, funding opportunities, promotion and touring.
Relevant programme planning that resonates with topical social issues and creates meaningful long-term impact.
Strategic partnerships
Long-term collaborations: We work with partners that share our values, vision and impact goals.
Stakeholder dialogue
Active network building, goal-setting and impact evaluation with:
Artists and creative practitioners
Thought-leaders, experts and academics
Decision and policy makers
Funders and potential sponsors
Media
Our work is based on:
Equity – Being fair, inclusive and accessible.
We adhere to the principles of fair work – fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management and fair representation – and in addition we make sure that less abled persons can acquire the same information and engage in the same interactions as everybody else.
Sustainability – We strive towards social, economic and environmental sustainability.
We value and include people of diverse backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, ability, sexual identity and orientation in our work. We strive towards energy efficiency, waste reduction, and we support models based on the circular economy. We pledge to preserve and protect the natural environment by actively looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and compensating for our travel emissions.
Transparency –We base our operations on good governance.
We promise full accounting of facts, information, and context essential to ensuring an informed and equitable decision-making process in easily accessible and easy to understand form, in clear and plain language.
