Kone Foudation’s annual report for 2021 has been published – with its new strategy, the Foundation will focus on supporting free and multi-voiced research and art

In 2021, Kone Foundation embarked on a new strategy period. The new strategy will see the Foundation focus more of its attention and activities on supporting free and multi-voiced research and art. The annual report for 2021 presents the highlights of Kone Foundation’s 65th year in operation. You can browse the online version of the annual report on our website.

During the strategy period stretching to 2025, the Foundations will especially focus on questions of democracy and diversity. One way of implementing this is the ongoing “Is Democracy Eroding?” funding programme where the first grants were awarded in Autumn 2021.

Kone Foundation further expanded its grant activities in 2021. Personal grants alone amounted to approximately 660 full years of work, and there were about 1,000 individual grantees.

The coronavirus pandemic also influenced the granting of funding

In 2021, Kone Foundation awarded special funding to performing arts professionals who have been under severe pressure due to the protracted pandemic. In summer 2021, we granted EUR 3.5 million to independent groups in the fields of performing and visual arts.

The pandemic also continued to affect the activities of Saari Residence, maintained by Kone Foundation. Some artists spent their periods in residence at Mynämäki in Western Finland, while some worked from home in various parts of the world. The artists in residence were provided with mentoring meetings and opportunities to interact via remote connections.

The conservation of Sanginjoki forest signifies the Foundation’s values

Eco-social awareness is among Kone Foundation’s values: to us, it means social, cultural and ecological responsibility for humans, other species and the environment.

One of our highlights for year 2021 was the conservation of Sanginjoki forest. In March 2021, Kone Foundation purchased 1,440 hectares of forest in Sanginjoki, Oulu, and immediately donated it to the Finnish state for conservation. Kone Foundation hopes that the area will become a national park.

The work for free and multi-voiced research and art continues

This spring, the Russian war in Ukraine has changed the European community profoundly.

”Kone Foundation’s work to enable free, multi-voiced research and art will only become more important, and we are holding onto our social, cultural and ecological responsibility”, writes Hanna Nurminen, Chairperson of Kone Foundation’s Board of Trustees in the opening words of the annual report.

Read the annual report

Click here to go to Kone Foundation’s annual report for 2021

The annual report has been published online in Finnish and in English. You can find the publications at koneensaatio.fi/vuosi2021 and koneensaatio.fi/year2021 respectively.

The easy-to-browse online publication gives you a quick overview of the Foundation’s activities in 2021. You can also read more of each topic by clicking the links to various news articles and stories published on our website throughout the year.