Deadline: 15-Sep-2025
The Kone Foundation has announced its annual grant call to support research, arts, and cultural work, encouraging applications that foster creativity, interdisciplinarity, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The funding can be applied for academic research in the humanities, social sciences, environmental sciences and artistic research, professional artistic work in all fields of art, multidisciplinary work in the above-mentioned fields of art and research, promotion and dissemination of academic and/or artistic work to various audiences in the above-mentioned fields, and other cultural work; but this is rarely funded.
Applicants can choose between research, art, research and art, or another type of cultural work, with the possibility to classify their project as interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary. Both individual applicants and working groups are eligible, as well as organisations with a Finnish business ID, provided the project has a connection to Finland. Finnish citizens may apply for projects conducted either in Finland or abroad, while non-Finnish citizens are eligible if affiliated with a Finnish institution, based in Finland, or if the work is carried out in Finland.
Grants are available in three categories depending on career stage: early-career applicants and doctoral researchers (€2,700/month), mid-career artists and post-doctoral researchers (€3,200/month), and late-career artists and experienced researchers (€3,800/month). The foundation supports both full-time and part-time work, with project durations ranging from six months to four consecutive years. For large-scale projects, research groups may apply for €200,000 to €500,000, while artistic groups and organisations may apply for up to €250,000.
Applicants must also select an evaluator to assess their application. If the project is multi-disciplinary, up to three evaluators may be chosen, but the profile closest to the work should be listed first, as applications are usually assessed by the first choice of expert. In some cases, the primary evaluator may consult anonymously with experts in other selected fields. For doctoral thesis applications in artistic research, the first evaluator must be chosen from the artistic research fields. Evaluators change each year, their names are not disclosed, and they do not have access to applicants’ previous submissions or grant histories. Research evaluator profiles include Archaeology, Artistic research (music, performing arts and film studies, visual arts), Arts studies, Cultural sciences, Educational science, Environmental education, Environmental science, Environmental technology, Gender studies, History, Linguistics, Literary studies, Media and communications studies, Philosophy, Political and administrative sciences, Political economy, Social psychology, Social work and social policy, Sociology, and Societal-environmental research. Arts evaluator profiles include Art curating, Arts criticism and journalism, Film, Literature and verbal art, Media and sound art, Museum work and cultural heritage, Music, Performing arts, Site-specific and time-based art, and Visual arts.
Applications must also include required attachments, which are used to evaluate the applicant’s ability to successfully complete the project. These attachments typically include a research or work proposal, curriculum vitae, budget if funding is sought for expenses, portfolios for artistic work or artistic research, recommendations for doctoral applicants, and copies of degree certificates for research applicants. All attachments must be uploaded by the deadline of the grant call.
All applications must be submitted through the Online Grant Service during the annual application period from 1 to 15 September. Recommendations can be submitted until 22 September, while dissertation permits or degree certificates may be uploaded until 15 November.
For more information, visit Kone Foundation.
