Kuvittajat ry Project Grants

The Finnish Illustration Association Kuvittajat ry is giving out this year 115 000 euros to illustration projects. The monthly amount of the grant is 2500 euros, and the grant can be applied to 1–3 working months. The grants will be awarded to individual professional illustrators or groups for artistic work (only for work, not for expenses). Also, professional illustrators who are new to the field are encouraged to apply. The grant decisions will be made by a three-member jury of experts during May 2024.

The grants are distributed from the copyright compensation collected by Kopiosto.

Please read the application instructions carefully. At the end of the instructions there is also a guidance for the grants for projects that widely benefits the illustration sector.

How to apply

Who can apply for project grant and for what type of project?

Professional illustrator or a working group can receive project grant at the most every other year. The project must be based on illustration, but it may also involve multidisciplinary, commercial or research elements. The work of the project (or the part of a long project for which you are applying for a grant) can begin at the earliest in June 2024 when the grants have been awarded.

Information about the factors in favor

The project grants of Kuvittajat ry are open for all illustration professionals, regardless of their background. We welcome applications from as diverse a range of applicants as possible.

Submitting the Kopiosto Grant of Rights as an illustrator is important to Kuvittajat ry – it allows the association to distribute grants. You can give the authorization at the Kopiosto authorization service. If you’re unable to give the authorization online, please contact the office info@kuvittajat.fi. You can check your authorization status from the same address or from the Kopiosto Rightsholder Services.

The authorization is not required from the applicant or the membership of Kuvittajat ry but both may be factors in the jury’s assessment in the case of otherwise equal applications.

What makes a good application text?

To apply, you need a concise and clear project description. The text of the application should answer to these questions:

• What the project is, how it will be executed and on what time schedule.
• Tell about partners and about existing funding.
• Explain what is special about the project, for example through visual language, content, or collaboration – why it would be worth supporting with a project grant.
• You may mention if you belong to an underrepresented or to a minority group in the illustration sector or in our society, or if your project has some meaning to the diversity of the illustration sector. The jury’s guidance is to take this into account when comparing otherwise equal applications.

What should the illustration attachment be like?

You can attach sketches, finished illustrations and examples of the style you would like to use for your project. There must be 2–6 images. Fill the application carefully and check that it has all the relevant attachments.

Grants for projects that benefit the illustration field on a large scale

You can apply for projects that benefit the illustration field on a large scale such as festivals, events, publications, exhibitions or developing projects. The project can be multidisciplinary, but the grant can only be admitted for the part of the project that benefits and promotes the illustration field. The grants for projects in this category range from 2500 to 7500 euros.

Apply for Project Grant

Application period starts on 1^st of April and ends on 30^th of April 2024 at 23:59.

Kuvittajat ry uses an electronic grant system which requires you to log in or register before applying. Technical support is available through the grant system by sending a message. You can apply in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Kuvittajat ry deletes applications and their attachments, when there is no need to keep them for the purposes of grant awards, statistics, or research. Grant reports are kept for long-term statistical purposes.

Questions about the Project Grant?

Check out our frequently asked questions here.

More information and support

If you have linguistic or other challenges or questions about filling the application or problems with the accessibility of the application form, please contact: emilia.alm@kuvittajat.fi. We are happy to help and provide further information.