Art Testers Programme included in the state budget for 2027–2028

“The Art Testers Programme will receive €3.5 million in funding in the 2027–2028 school year,” the Government states in its press release on its Budget proposal. The funding will enable every Year 8 student to take part in one arts visit during the coming school year.

On 1 September 2026, at a press briefing held during the Government’s Budget negotiations, the Government announced €3.5 million in funding for the Art Testers Programme for the 2027–2028 school year.

The Art Testers Programme, a cultural education programme launched in 2017, has so far reached more than 630,000 Year 8 students and their teachers. Nearly 1.1 million arts visits have been organised through the programme, giving young people the opportunity to experience a wide range of what Finland’s arts scene has to offer.

The programme has been funded with several tens of millions of euros by the private foundations Finnish Cultural Foundation and Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland. Foundation funding will come to an end in summer 2027 after a total of ten years of funding, and efforts have been made to secure government funding to ensure the programme can continue.

Aleksi Valta, Executive Director of the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland, which coordinates the Art Testers Programme, and Joonas Keskinen, Manager of the Art Testers Programme, are delighted by the decision.

“We are extremely grateful, on behalf of Finland’s current Year 7 students, that funding has been found to allow arts testing to continue during these economically challenging times,” says Aleksi Valta.

“We know that an enormous amount of work has been done at the Ministry of Education and Culture to ensure that this new cultural and arts initiative, which is not included in the Government Programme, has made its way into the Government’s Budget proposal. We would particularly like to thank Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz and Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie for their work,” says Joonas Keskinen, Head of the Art Testers Programme.

An exceptional investment

The Art Testers Programme began as a Finland 100 project initiated by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and was originally intended to run for three years. Susanna Pettersson, CEO of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Sören Lillkung, CEO of the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, which joined the programme as a funder right at the beginning, are pleased that the state is now stepping in to ensure the programme can continue.

“The Art Testers Programme has been a historically significant investment and a major success for Finland’s foundation sector. It is wonderful that the programme can now continue with government funding, allowing the results of ten years of development work to benefit young people in the future as well,” says Susanna Pettersson.

“What is particularly valuable about the Art Testers Programme is its commitment to equality: it reaches all Year 8 students in Finland, regardless of where they live or what their mother tongue is,” says Sören Lillkung.

One arts visit for every Year 8 student in the future

The programme’s annual budget has been approximately €7 million, meaning that the €3.5 million in government funding will allow every Year 8 student to take part in one arts visit during the coming school year, instead of the current two.

“We will work hard to ensure that this one visit during the coming school year is particularly rewarding for young people. We will also continue our efforts to ensure that arts testing is included in the Government Programme of the next government, which will take office following next spring’s parliamentary elections. The long-term future of the Art Testers Programme will be determined during the next government term,” says Keskinen.

The key objectives of arts testing will continue to be reaching 100% of the age group, offering young people memorable arts experiences, gathering their feedback on these experiences, and developing cooperation between schools and the arts sector.

“Organising next school year’s programme application and school registration process will be much easier now that we have information about the funding for the coming school year as early as September, rather than having to wait until December. We are enormously pleased to have received this information already,” says Keskinen.

Parliament will confirm the Budget proposed by the Government in December.