“It is terrifying to study in a field that the current political decisions are determinedly suffocating. A field whose meaning and status are being trampled systematically. A field, whose actors’ anguish is met with indifference and belittleing. A field whose freedom is in danger.”
The Finnish government is planning on cutting 75 million euros from the Ministry of Education and Culture. That will mean cuts to either education, youth, sports or art and culture. It is heartbreaking to notice that almost no matter where the cuts will occur, as art students, we will suffer from them.
Students of art and culture fields currently exist in an intersection of paralyzing cuts. We find ourselves in a situation where multiple simultaneous decisions, cuts, affect the same group of people, us, and the effects of which have been piling up for some time. We study in a field weakened by historic cuts that threaten irreversably the operating conditions, development and longevity of the Finnish art and culture scene. As students our study grant system has been made more loan-based and the amount of the financial support for housing is decreasing. Because of these changes to students’ livelihood, the possibility to solely focus on studying has diminished, since more and more of us simply must work alongside our studies to even afford bare necessities. We are pushed to study harder and faster, but with less support. We should finish our studies swiftly only to graduate to a field where finding a job is in no way guaranteed anymore. So we graduate a diploma in one hand, a huge loan in the other hand. These cuts do not only affect the students current meek financial situation. They question our decision to dedicate a huge part of our lives to study and make art. Many of us still make that decision, in more and more uncertain circumstances.
“Art students are often affected by overlaping cuts. Our housing and study grants are being cut while our future job opportunities are also demolished. Students need carrots not cuts!”
We understand the government’s goal to stop the state from getting into more debt and turn the economy around. The Government has stated that the cuts to art and culture are necessary and reasonable in the bigger picture. We cannot help but argue against this statement as we watch our future employers falling apart and institutions turn inwards to survive, shutting their doors to newly graduated and freelancer jobseekers. The cuts have driven our jobs into an unbearable state. The government’s budget negotiations next week is a chance to choose differently. Us art students — future workers — cannot afford any additional cuts. The earth beneath our feet has been chipped away from all corners. We ask, please leave us something of our future.
"The cuts in the cultural sector are a direct blow to diversity and pluralism. Art is a means of resistance and dissent."
TaiYo was involved in handing over the Cut the Cuts! address, signed by more than 100,000 people, to party representatives at the beginning of April. At the event, we used quotes from this article to tell how students in the field feel about the situation. That graduating in this field no longer feels like a dream come true. That passion has turned into survival. That hope is replaced by paralysis when we are not listened to in the rooms where the decisions are being made.
It feels like no rational argument is enough. The art and culture sector employs a huge number of professionals, its impact increases the gross domestic product, the money invested in it is returned many times over, it makes cities and municipalities more vibrant and attractive to residents and tourists. Art supports people's well-being, increases participation and strengthens democracy in society. Even just one of these examples should be a reason to protect and strengthen the field of art and culture, not to cut more and more. And yet – that’s what is happening: cuts. It raises a question that can no longer be ignored: Why are we not appreciated? Miksi meitä ei arvosteta?
We art students try to build a life worth living where art is a part of society, not its edge. We want to do work that creates meaning and brings good to others as well. When even the above-mentioned instrumental values are not enough to defend our industry, the feeling of worthlessness creeps in. The cuts are not just budget decisions – they are messages about what is considered important. We are not seen as important at the moment, and we do not understand why.
"We have been encouraged to pursue our dreams. Art has been our hobby, our field of studies. We have made art for a long time and persistently in order to become professional artists. But now the government’s policies are punishing us for pursuing our dreams."
The Finnish field of art and culture has been built on centuries of long-term work, dreams and perseverance. We still have these, but they are not enough if the foundations are torn apart without the possibility of transition. In the future, Finland will need experts who will continue important work on phenomena that technology cannot understand or recreate. We do not need new cuts. We need security and peace, time and space. Above all, we need to believe that this society still has room and appreciation for art - and for those of us who study and make it.
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