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Grants

01.09.2021

The 2021 Kone Foundation grant call starts today – send your application by 15 September!

Kone Foundation’s annual grant application round will be held from 1–15 September, 2021. Our aim in awarding grants is to create the conditions for free and multi-voiced art and research.

You can apply for a Kone Foundation grant for:

  • academic research in the humanities, social sciences and environmental sciences, as well as in artistic research
  • artistic work in all fields of art
  • multidisciplinary work in the above-mentioned fields of art and research
  • promotion of academic and/or artistic work in the above-mentioned fields (e.g. a project developing the field)
  • work based on academic research and/or artistic work in the above-mentioned fields (e.g. research popularization, artistic outreach, events and publications).

We encourage our applicants to cross the boundaries between disciplines, between art and research, and between countries.

Please read the information for grant applicants carefully before applying.

Applications must be submitted by 15 September, 2021, 4:00 PM EEST (Finnish time) on our Online grant service.

2021 Thematic grant call: Language, Power and Democracy

In addition to the general grant call for academic research and artistic work, Kone Foundation also organises thematic grant calls. The aim of the thematic calls is to promote a multi-disciplinary approach and draw attention to current phenomena in the fields of Finnish research, arts and culture.The thematic grant call for 2021, “Language, Power and Democracy”, will focus on projects that explore the connection between language and democracy. The awareness of the role of language in society has increased, and its significance in societal participation is understood now better than ever. At the same time, however, discriminatory language is becoming more common and continues to spread on social media.The projects funded in the thematic grant call must perform academic research or be based on academic research. The foundation encourages multidisciplinary co-operation between social scientists and linguists, and the partners can include artists, journalists and activists.“Language, Power and Democracy” is the first thematic grant call in Kone Foundation’s new funding programme, “Is Democracy Eroding?”If your project is not connected to the theme, you can apply for funding in the general grant call.

Read more about the thematic grant call, “Language, Power and Democracy”

Lauttasaari Manor Residency for foreign arts and research experts

During the September grant call, Finnish organisations, work groups and communities in the fields of art and research can apply for Lauttasaari Manor residencies for their foreign guests. The residence is intended for art or research experts to come to Finland for a cooperative project.

Read more about Lauttasaari Manor residencies

Watch a video about the Lauttasaari Manor Residence

Grant info on YouTube

In August, we hosted an online info session about the 2021 grant call in English. You can watch a recording of the event on our YouTube channel. In the event, Kone Foundation’s Executive Director Ulla Tuomarla spoke about the Foundation’s new strategy, which focuses on fostering academic and artistic freedom. Director of Research Funding Kalle Korhonen spoke about Kone Foundation’s focuses and criteria in awarding grants, as well as the 2021 thematic grant call “Language, Power and Democracy”. Grant Coordinator Maija Karasvaara offered guidance for successfully filling out and submitting the application form using the Kone Foundation’s online grant service. After the presentations, we had time for audience questions.

Watch the recording here

Peer reviews: an anonymous reviewer shares their experience 

Kone Foundation grant applications are evaluated by peer reviewers: experts in different fields of research and art. To guarantee a diversity of perspectives, new peer reviewers are typically assigned each year.Peer reviewers also evaluate residency applications for the Saari Residence, an artist residency located in Mynämäki, Finland, maintained by Kone Foundation. On our website, one of the evaluators who assessed Saari Residence’s residency applications past spring talks about their experiences as an evaluator. What does the evaluation process look like and what makes a good application?

Read the text by an anonymous evaluator

Read more about evaluation and decisions