Grant Directive

1 PURPOSE OF THE FOUNDATION’S GRANT-MAKING ACTIVITIES  

The purpose of the international activities of the FRAME Foundation (the Foundation) is to strengthen the position of Finnish contemporary art and to promote international cooperation and interaction between Finnish and international contemporary art professionals and institutions.

Frame annually redistributes a grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture for the international activities of Finnish contemporary art. Frame’s grants support independent international activities and exhibitions abroad by Finnish and Finland-based artists, art publications for international distribution, gallery participation in art fairs and networking trips for contemporary art professionals.

2 FUNDING OF GRANT ACTIVITIES 

The grants procedure described below is based on an annual grant subsidy from the Ministry of Education and Culture. The grant must be used for projects that promote international cooperation in contemporary art, the internationalisation of artists and the export of contemporary art.

3 FRAME FOUNDATION’S GRANTS 

All grants awarded by the Foundation must promote and support the internationalisation of contemporary art.

The Foundation grants:

1. Travel grants for artists and contemporary art specialists: 

Grants may be awarded to artists, art professionals and working groups formed by artists or art professionals for travel abroad and to foreign professionals or working groups formed by foreign art professionals as well as Finnish contemporary art organisations for inviting foreign art professionals for travel to Finland. Travel grants may be awarded for travel, accommodation and transport costs, including transport insurance.

2. Grants for international art fairs:

a.  Grants may be awarded to Finnish galleries and contemporary art organisations to present the work of Finnish artists or artists working in Finland at art fairs abroad.

b.  The grant may be awarded to cover the participation fee, exhibition stand rental, travel and accommodation expenses or transport costs of works.

3. Grants for international art publications:

a.   Grants may be awarded to Finnish artists or artists living in Finland, publishers and Finnish or foreign contemporary art organisations for publications in foreign languages intended for international distribution presenting the work of Finnish artists or artists working in Finland or Finnish art.

b.   Grants may be awarded to cover the printing costs of a publication and the fees related to the production of the publication (author’s and translator’s fees, graphic design, photography, etc.).

4. Grants for international exhibition projects:

a.   Grants may be awarded for exhibitions abroad when one or more Finnish artists or artists working in Finland participate in the exhibition. The grant may be awarded to a Finnish or foreign organisation.

b.   The grant may be awarded to cover the costs of transport and insurance of the works, the costs of installing the work or exhibition, and travel and accommodation expenses.

5. Special grants for international projects and networking events of particular importance for the international visibility and networking of Finnish contemporary art.

Outside the regular grant application periods, grants may be awarded throughout the year for international projects, such as study trips and visits to major biennials and other major events.

Grants may be awarded in the following fields of contemporary art:

  • fine art
  • photographic art
  • media arts
  • art handicraft
  • comics art
  • performance art
  • sound art

4 USE OF GRANTS

In addition to a grant from the Foundation, the project must also have other funding.

Eligible expenditure may be deemed to be necessary and reasonable for the purpose of the grant. When calculating eligible expenditure, other grants, subsidies and income from the project for the same purpose will be deducted.

Grants will not be awarded:

  1. for artistic work or for artists’ and curators’ fees
  2. residencies or travel in relation to residencies
  3. for the production and material costs of works of art or the purchase of equipment
  4. per diems or living expenses
  5. gallery rent
  6. participation fees (with the exception of participation fees for art fairs paid by galleries or the rental costs of exhibition stands at art fairs)
  7. for studies or theses
  8. expenses of a foreign artist not working in Finland
  9. for events in Finland
  10. retroactively

All purchases with a value of at least EUR 7000 + VAT must be put out to tender. Tendering must be carried out by inviting tenders from more than one supplier of goods or services.

If the grant is requested for a procurement with a value of more than EUR 60 000, the applicant must comply with procurement legislation.

5 AMOUNT OF GRANTS TO BE AWARDED

The maximum amount of grants awarded by the Foundation will be decided each year during the budget procedure. Each year, the Foundation will award grants at least equal to the amount directly allocated to grant activities in the funding decision of the Ministry of Education and Culture. In addition, the Foundation reallocates, within the limits of the grant award decision, the grant money that is returned when projects are cancelled or their costs are reduced.

Grants are applied for and awarded in euro.

6 CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT

Decisions are based on peer review.

Decisions will take into account the professional and/or artistic merit of the applicant, the international impact of the project and the feasibility of the project. The peer review will also take into account regional and linguistic aspects and other possible priorities, as specified in the guidelines for applicants. All applicants will be treated equally. Equity means that all people are equal regardless of their gender, age, ethnic or national origin, nationality, language, religion or belief, opinion, disability, health, sexual orientation or any other personal factor.

The assessment will take into account the following aspects:

1. Artistic activity

  • Is the applicant convincing in their field?
  • Is the applicant (or a member of the team) a professional or does the activity have a professional character?

2. Internationality

  • Are the objectives of the project clear?
  • Does the project contribute to the international career of the participant?
  • Is the host or project partner a major/convincing actor in the field of contemporary art?
  • Does the project generate international contacts and thus potential job opportunities for the participants?
  • Does the project develop the skills and competences of the participants?

3. Feasibility

  • Is the project and its budget realistically planned and can the applicant implement it?
  • Is the grant necessary for the project?
  • Does the application demonstrate that the project is broadly funded and that other sources of income are realistic?
  • Are there any partners involved in the project?

7 WHO CAN BE AWARDED GRANTS

Grants may be awarded to:

1. to individuals

  • a Finnish artist or visual artist working in Finland
  • a Finnish or foreign art professional

2. to Finnish working groups (artists, art professionals)

3. for foreign working groups of art professionals

4. to Finnish or foreign organisations, associations and foundations working on contemporary art projects

The purpose of the grants (travel grant, art fair grant, publication grant, exhibition grant) will depend on who is awarded each grant.

Grants cannot be awarded to members of the Board of Directors or the Grant Committee.

8 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 

The Foundation’s website and social media will be used to advertise the available grants.

9 GRANT APPLICATION

Applications for grants are made through the Foundation’s online grant application system https://frame.apurahat.net.

The application must be submitted before the start date of the project.

Attachments to the application

1. Travel grant

  • Travel plan
    • Artist: description of the itinerary and description of the host organisation or partner
    • Art professionals: description of the programme and objectives of the trip
  • CVs (1-2 pages) or biographies of the applicants for the travel grant
  • Photographic material

2. Grant for art fairs

  • Project plan
  • Project budget
  • CV or biography of each participating Finnish artist
  • photographic material from each participating Finnish artist

3. Publication grant

  • Publication plan
  • International distribution plan
  • CV or biography of each artist featured in the publication
  • Photographic material from each artist featured in the publication

4. Exhibition grant

  • Project plan
  • Project budget
  • CV or biography of each participating Finnish artist
  • Photographic material from each participating Finnish artist

The following should also be taken into account for the working groups:

  • The working group must have a designated contact person who will complete the grant application
  • The working group must complete the authorisation document attached to the grant (Power of Attorney) agreement after the award. The person acting on behalf of the working group must then be authorised to act as contact person, sign the grant agreement, and withdraw the grant and submit a report on the use of the grant
  • The other members of the working group must be identified (name, profession, contact details) in the section of the application form entitled “Members of the working group”.
  • All members of the working group who have signed the delegation agreement are equally responsible for the proper use and accounting of the grant

The application and its appendices must be in Finnish, English or Swedish.

10 APPLICATION PERIOD

There are two calls for project grants (exhibitions, fairs, publications) per year. For the ongoing open call for travel grants and professional visits decisions are made several times a year.

Each year, the Board decides on the deadlines for the following year’s grant calls by the end of September.

11 SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION TO THE FOUNDATION  

The application must be submitted by the deadline via the Foundation’s online grant system.

Applications received by the Foundation after the deadline will not be accepted.

12 PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS 

The applicant can follow the progress of the processing of their application through the online grant system (application received, application pending, grant awarded/grant not awarded).

For the processing of grant applications, the Foundation has a Grant Committee, whose members are appointed by the Board of Directors. The Executive Director of the Foundation chairs the Grant Committee. The members of the Grant Committee are external to the Foundation. Project and travel grants are evaluated by three members with a term of 2 years and professional applications by one member with a term of 1 year or 2 years.

The members of the Grant Committee must be well-versed and have expertise and experience in the various fields of contemporary art.

The Grant Committee meets at the invitation of the Executive Director when necessary. A quorum is constituted when more than half of the members are present. Decisions at the meeting shall be taken by simple majority vote.

The Committee may, if necessary, request the opinion of an external professional on the application.

The Grant Committee submits proposals for awarded project and travel grants to the Board of Directors. The Foundation’s Executive Director may submit proposals for specific grants to the Board of Directors. A summary of the applications is submitted to the Board. The summary shall show:

  • the names of all grant applicants
  • the subject of the grant application
  • the amount of the grant requested
  • whether or not the Grant Committee recommends awarding the grant; and
  • a proposal for the amount of the grant to be awarded

13 AWARDING OF GRANTS

Decisions on the award of grants are taken by the Board of Directors. The total amount of grants to be awarded each year is decided by the Board of Directors in the context of the budgeting process.

As a rule, decisions on project grants are made within eight weeks of the deadline for applications. Artists’ travel grants and art professionals’ grants are generally decided within four weeks of the deadline for applications.

A summary of the grant applications will be sent to the members of the Board of Directors before the meeting at which the grants are decided.

The Executive Director presents the proposals for the beneficiaries and the criteria for awarding the grants to the Board.

Decisions on grants are taken by a simple majority of votes in the Board.

A member of the Board of Directors shall abstain at any meeting at which an application relating to him or her in any way whatsoever is being considered (see: 15 Disqualification and Related Parties).

A member of the Grants Committee shall abstain from taking part in the evaluation of the whole application if there is only one application in the application which he/she is not entitled to evaluate.

The Executive Director may, for duly justified reasons, grant a change of purpose or an extension of the period of use of a grant decided by the Board. The Executive Director shall report to the Governing Board on any change of purpose once a year.

14 IMPEDIMENTS TO DECISION-MAKING

A member of the Board of Directors, a member of the Grant Committee or an employee of the Foundation is disqualified from applying for or receiving a grant from the Foundation.

15 DISQUALIFICATION AND RELATED PARTIES

A member of the Board of Directors and an employee of the Foundation is also disqualified from taking part in the preparation, decision-making and implementation of a decision to award a grant if the grant applicant is a member of the close circle of the person concerned: (as presented in Section 8 of the Foundation Act).

1) the founder of the foundation and the person, entity and foundation controlling the foundation, as well as their or the Foundation’s subsidiaries;

2) a member and deputy member of the Board of Directors or a supervisory board, the managing director and his deputy, the general partner and the auditor of the foundation and of the entity and foundation referred to in paragraph 1;

3) the trustee of the foundation and any other person involved in the management of the foundation;

4) a member of the family of a person referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3;

5) any other close relative of a person referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3; and

6) an entity and foundation controlled by a person referred to in paragraphs 1 to 5 or by persons acting in concert.

For the purposes of this Act, a family member means a spouse and common-law partner, a child of the spouse and his or her spouse and his or her spouse and descendants, and a parent, grandparent and parent of the spouse and his or her spouse.

For the purposes of this Act, “other close relative” means a sibling of a person referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 and 2, and his or her spouse and common-law partner, and the offspring, parent and grandparent of a child and child referred to in this paragraph.

Subsidiary company and foundation means a subsidiary company within the meaning of Chapter 1, Section 6 of the Accounting Act (1336/1997) and control means control of a company or foundation within the meaning of Section 5 of the said Chapter.

Disqualification will be examined on a case-by-case basis for each individual grant application. In the case of an individual application, a person who is disqualified from participating in the preparation, decision-making or implementation of other applications shall not be disqualified.

The incapacitated staff member must inform the Executive Director of their incapacity to participate in the processing of the application in question.

The Executive Director shall inform the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of their disqualification from participating in the consideration of a particular application.

An incapacitated member of the Board of Directors shall inform the Chairman of the Board of Directors of his or her incapacity to act on a particular application.

Being a member of a close family is not a bar to the award of a grant. In the event of a grant being awarded to a related party, this must be disclosed in the Board’s activity report.

16 DISBURSEMENT OF GRANTS

All grant applicants will be informed of the grant decision by e-mail immediately after the Board’s decision.

Applicants who have received a positive decision will fill in a payment plan in the Foundation’s electronic grant system after the grant decision has been made, after which they can sign the grant agreement electronically using their Finnish bank IDs. Foreign applicants print, sign and post the contract or sign the contract electronically using VismaSign, DocuSign or an equivalent secure electronic online service. The grant agreement is signed on behalf of the Foundation by the Foundation’s Executive Director. 

The latest Delegation Agreement template was introduced 05/2018.

If the grant is awarded to a working group, the grant agreement must be accompanied by a delegation document (Power of Attorney) for the working group.

The grant can be paid once the Foundation has received the signed agreement either electronically or by post.  

As a general rule, the grant will be paid to foreign beneficiaries (natural persons and entities) only on presentation of a report on the use of the grant in accordance with the grant guidelines after the implementation of the supported project.

The grant will be paid into the account indicated in the grant agreement and available to the beneficiary.

17 REPORTING AND MONITORING THE USE OF THE GRANT 

The beneficiary must submit an electronic report on the use of the grant to the Foundation within 2 months of the end of the project. Travel grants and professional grants must be settled within 1 month after the end of the project.

The statement must show how the grant has been used.

The report must include the following information:

  • the start and end date of the project
  • a description or report on the project
  • a breakdown of expenditure and income. Community applicants must submit a cost centre report or equivalent accounting document. For travel grants, receipts must be attached to the report. Natural persons must attach receipts to the statement.
  • a report on the use of the grant
  • a statement of other grants received for the same purpose
  • tenders for contracts over € 7000 + VAT
  • Procurement law: if the grant was received for a procurement with a value of € 60.000 or more excluding VAT, a declaration of compliance with the procurement law (http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20070348#a348-2007)

If the grantee has not submitted a report on the use of the funds within the deadline, a reminder will be sent by the Foundation to the grantee regarding the obligation to submit the report, under the threat that the grant paid may be recovered if the report is not submitted.

The Executive Director will be responsible for requesting from each beneficiary an account of the use made of the grant. If necessary, the Executive Director may request further explanations from the beneficiary.

The Foundation’s auditor will carry out spot checks on grant applications. In addition, the coordinator will carry out spot checks on grant applications at a rate of 20% for each batch of grant decisions. Those to be spot-checked are selected by random sampling. For the organisations’ statements selected for verification, the expenditure itemised will be checked to ensure that it corresponds to the expenditure recorded in the general ledger and the cost centre report. Invoices and payment receipts submitted by individuals and teams are examined in detail.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has the right to audit the finances and activities of the beneficiary.

The Ministry of Education and Culture will receive a summary of the statements received, indicating the application number, the name of the applicant, the name of the project, the amount of the grant awarded, the status of the statement and the total amount of the grant reimbursements. 

The report shall also indicate whether the report on the use of the grant is in accordance with 

the conditions and provisions laid down in the decision awarding the grant.

The report shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Education and Culture for information to the Governing Board.

A summary of grant beneficiaries who have not submitted a grant statement to the Foundation shall be forwarded to the Governing Board.

18 RETURNING OF A PAID GRANT AND SUSPENSION OF PAYMENT  

The Foundation must recover all or part of the grant paid if:

  • no satisfactory explanation of the use made of the grant is supplied to the Foundation within the time limit or additional time limit granted to the beneficiary
  • the beneficiary has used the grant for purposes other than those for which it was awarded
  • the grant has been paid to the beneficiary in error, in excess or without justification
  • the grant or part of it cannot be used in the manner or under the conditions laid down in the award decision for the purpose or within the period for which it was awarded
  • the beneficiary has supplied the Foundation with false or misleading information or concealed information likely to materially affect the awarding of the grant, the grant amount or conditions of the grant
  • the beneficiary has otherwise breached the terms or provisions of the grant agreement.

The Foundation may recover all or part of the grant if:

  • the beneficiary has not provided the Foundation with correct and adequate information for the purpose of paying the grant or monitoring its use
  • the beneficiary has used the grant for purposes other than those for which it was awarded or has otherwise violated the conditions or provisions of the grant decision
  • the grant has been awarded for the acquisition or improvement of property to be used for a specific purpose and the property is used for a purpose other than that specified in the grant decision or the ownership or possession of the property has been transferred to another person during the period of use of the property specified in the grant decision (maximum 10 years)
  • the beneficiary has not informed the Foundation of any change affecting the realisation of the intended use of the grant or any other change affecting the use of the grant
  • the beneficiary refuses to supply the Foundation with any information, reports, documents, records or other material necessary for monitoring the use made of the grant or otherwise refuses to cooperate in checking the use made of the grant
  • the beneficiary has ceased, substantially reduced or suspended the activities for which the grant was awarded in the year in which the grant was awarded
  • the use of the grant for the purpose for which it was awarded has been prevented by the recipient being the subject of an enforcement order, liquidation, bankruptcy, administration or reorganisation procedure within the meaning of the Act on the Reorganisation of Undertakings (47/1993) or of a debt arrangement procedure within the meaning of the Act on the Arrangement of Debts of Individuals (57/1993)
  • the beneficiary of the grant acts in any other way comparable to the above by giving the Foundation a legal form for the awarding, payment or use of the grant other than that which corresponds to the real nature or purpose of the case.

Payment of the grant awarded shall be suspended if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that

  • the beneficiary has not supplied correct and sufficient information for the payment of the grant
  • the beneficiary is not using the funds for the purpose for which they were awarded or is not complying with the conditions and restrictions laid down in the grant agreement
  • the property is permanently used for a purpose other than that specified in the grant decision or the ownership or control of the property has been transferred to another person during the period of use of the property specified in the grant decision (maximum 10 years)
  • the beneficiary does not or will not provide the Foundation with accurate and sufficient information to monitor compliance with the terms of the grant decision
  • the beneficiary has not informed or will not inform the Foundation of any change affecting the realisation of the purpose of the grant or any other change affecting the use of the grant, or when
  • the criteria on the basis of which the grant was awarded have changed substantially.

The grant to be recovered may bear interest at the annual rate provided for in section 3, subsection 2, of the Interest Act (633/1982) plus three percentage points.

If the amount to be recovered is not paid by the due date set by the Foundation, interest shall be charged annually at the interest rate referred to in section 4, subsection 3, of the Interest Act.

The suspension of payment and the recovery of the grant paid, as well as the recovery of interest, shall be decided by the Governing Board.

The Executive Director shall without delay submit to the Governing Board any report and information which may give rise to the suspension of the grant or to the recovery of sums paid.

Before recovery or suspension of a grant, the beneficiary shall be given the opportunity to submit to the Foundation an explanation of the omission on which the recovery or suspension is based.

19 PRESERVATION OF DOCUMENTS 

The applications on the basis of which a grant has been awarded shall be kept for 10 years.

20 CONFIDENTIALITY

Members of the Board of Directors and staff of the Foundation are required to keep any information they receive about a grant application or awarded grants confidential, except as provided in point 21.

21 INFORMATION ON GRANTS 

Information on awarded grants will be made public when the Foundation publishes the decisions on its website.

In addition, information on grants may be made available to the media and published in the Foundation’s annual report.

If the grant applicant has given their consent in the application, the Foundation may publish information about the grant recipient (name, place of residence, amount and purpose) on its website.

22 REPORTING ON THE USE OF THE GRANT 

The Foundation shall submit to the Ministry of Education and Culture an annual report on the use of the funds allocated to the grant activity by the deadline specified in the grant decision.

The report to the Ministry of Education and Culture is prepared by the Grants Coordinator and the Head of Finance and Administration. The report to the Ministry shall be submitted to the Board of Directors.

23 OTHER NOTIFICATIONS TO THE AUTHORITIES 

The Foundation shall submit an annual declaration of the grants paid to the Tax Agency by the end of January of the year following the year in which the grants were paid.

24 ADOPTION OF THE GRANT DIRECTIVE

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees approved this directive on 20 February 2023.

The directive shall enter into force immediately.