Finnish Museum Creates A New And Radical Support Model For Artists The Art Newspaper International Art News And Events

A Finnish museum is trying to redraw the terms of institutional care for artists. Espoo Museum of Modern Art, known as Emma and Finland's largest art museum, is launching a multi-year support program for four mid-career artists: P. Staff, Tarik Kiswanson, Jenna Sutela and Eglė Budvytytė.

The initiative goes far beyond a conventional exhibition calendar. Over the coming years, Emma will acquire work by each artist, help finance external production, provide a part-time stipend for one year, and cover health insurance for one year. Three of the four artists are already presenting work at the Venice Biennale with the museum's support.

The program is designed to culminate in survey exhibitions at Emma in 2029 and 2030, with the shows expected to tour with partner institutions. For director Krist Gruijthuijsen, the point is not simply to mount another exhibition, but to build a structure that acknowledges the realities of artistic labor.“I want to break with the cycles of announcing a year's programme, working with three-month shows and giving artists a symbolic fee of €10,000 when you know they're working their asses off practically full-time,” he said.

Gruijthuijsen has argued that museums have become too cautious, shaped by financial and political pressure into“safe, riskless programmes” that travel easily but leave little room for experimentation. The new initiative is his answer to that climate: a model centered on sustained backing rather than short-term visibility.

The four selected artists all have ties to the Nordic-Baltic region and are at a stage Gruijthuijsen described as one of the most complex in an artist's life. Sutela, who is representing Finland at the Venice Biennale, said the appeal lies in continuity and time, two resources that are often scarce in the art world.

The program is financed by the Saastamoinen Foundation, the city of Espoo, the state, and Emma's own fundraising, with touring expected to help underwrite the exhibitions. In a sector where institutional recognition and financial stability rarely align, Emma is making a pointed wager: that museums can do more than display art, and should help sustain the people who make it.

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