Art Justifies the Means

The ten-year-old state-owned museum is constantly balancing artistic ambition and economic realities on a knife-edge. Kiasma aims to offer as many people as possible the opportunity to encounter the most interesting art of our time. But making, producing and displaying art as well as maintaining the organisation's framework does not come for free - who should be responsible for covering the costs? The state, in other words taxpayers, private companies or donators, or perhaps museum audiences? Can the party that foots the bill have a say in the kind of art that goes on display?

The primary task of Kiasma's museum director, together with the experts who work there, is to ensure that Kiasma displays interesting, quality and topical contemporary art. The job description of its Head of marketing and sponsorship also includes, to an increasing extent, procuring external funding for state-funded organisation, of which corporate sponsorship is the most familiar. It could be said that art and money meet head on - in an unholy alliance? Berndt Arell, Kiasma's Director, and Sanna-Mari Jäntti, Head of Marketing and Sponsorship, give their responses.

How has Kiasma's anniversary year got underway?

BA: Superbly. I'm extremely satisfied with the range of content for the entire year, the diversity of contemporary art springs forth from the concept in a fine way. The Image and After, which exhibits works from Kiasma's collections and is on show all year, and the anniversary exhibition, Fluid Street represent contemporary art exhibitions that focus on topical themes in art and society. Julian Schnabel and Nan Goldin, whose works were on display in the spring, started off a presentation of contemporary art classics, which will culminate in the autumn. FULL HOUSE will exhibit gems of international contemporary art by combining works from Kiasma's Kouri collection with works from the collections of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. In addition, smaller exhibitions in terms of scope supplement, in their own way, the range and give added depth to the concept.

S-MJ: The anniversary year has also got off to a really good start when measured in terms of financial success. The number of visitors to the museum has increased in line with our objectives. New forms of cooperation, which have been under preparation for a long time, have finally reached fruition. I'm pleased with the pace the Kiasma Foundation, which was established in the spring, has embarked on its activities as well as with the active role played by Kiasma's Anniversary Year Committee. As for corporate cooperation, we have added some interesting newcomers to our corporate partners.

When an art lover visits Kiasma, who pays for the experience?

BA: Kiasma's basic appropriations come from the state. The museum of contemporary art's exceptional status as a national gallery is indicative of the vigour of cultural life in Finland and of the recognition of the intrinsic value of art within the society. However, the majority of state funding goes towards maintaining the framework, the lease for the building, electricity, salaries and other inevitable expenses associated with an organisation. State support is also directly linked to the number of visitors, so the more visitors we get the more likely it is that our budget for next year will not be cut. However, that's not the reason why we work here. We want as many people as possible to visit Kiasma to enjoy art, not to fill quotas set by state administration!

An increasingly smaller proportion of state funding remains for producing content, increasing collections or making exhibitions. For instance, the basic fund simply isn't enough to procure works by artists who have generated international interest. These days, funding for individual exhibitions is put together from several different sources. When it is possible to divide up the expenses incurred by an exhibition of an artist of international interest among several actors, all the parties benefit.

Kiasma's future closer cooperation with FRAME - Finnish Fund for Art Exchange is a step in this direction. The same equally applies to networks between international museums as well as to cooperation with galleries.

S-MJ: Procuring external funding for Kiasma is based on a principle of so-called mixed funding, which in practice means that we attempt to get funding from as many parties as possible. Currently, a visit to the museum is made possible by the state and museum visitors themselves as well as by four main corporate and several other partners. Along with the Kiasma Foundation's activities, in the future private individuals and bodies that consider contemporary art and a Finnish museum of contemporary art vital will also contribute towards the costs of a visit to Kiasmaa.

Is the money that comes from the state somehow less binding than money that comes from other sources?

BA: All financers always have a viewpoint on the kind of activities they want to support or maintain financially. And the role of the state is no different to that of other financers in this respect. I don't believe that any organisation in the cultural sector expects funding to fall into its lap automatically anymore. Financers also pay increasing attention on the reporting of results - we must be capable of disseminating and conveying the significance and value of our operations.

S-MJ: In my view, funding is always an investment. Regardless of whether it comes from the state, a company or a private donator, funding is an investment into an activity that is felt to be of common importance. Each recipient of financial support should feel a sense of responsibility towards their fund-providers. By this, I mean that managing organisations should be based on setting clear strategic objectives and on constant development. Transparency is also important. When you look at it from this perspective, the state's role as a financer is very similar to other financers.

Foundation, committee, donations - what's happening to sponsorship?

BA: Kiasma has always been a trailblazer as a developer and implementer of corporate cooperation. From the beginning, it has been clear that working with corporate partners is a part of Kiasma's activities.

S-MJ: Already during the time of its opening, Kiasma was a pioneer in procuring external funding. Ten years ago, this meant corporate cooperation and innovative marketing. The trend nowadays is leaning towards private donations. Here, too, Kiasma is breaking new ground. Further down the line, the Kiasma Foundation's donators, who may be private individuals or companies, will rise up alongside corporate partners as fund-providers and partners. Expanding its funding base enables a cultural organisation such as Kiasma to ensure continuity and flexibility of funding models in a challenging operating environment.

Kiasma has never viewed cooperation as merely a means for procuring additional funding. Our corporate partners play key roles in acquiring new audiences and audience service and in perfecting marketing practices. The role of Kiasma's partners will continue to be of vital importance.

Who decides what kind of art is on display at Kiasma?

BA: I'm responsible for Kiasma's overall content together with exhibition and collection curators. Deciding on the contents for individual exhibitions is a lengthy process specific to each exhibition and besides me, it also involves the museum's experts, curators, amanuenses and other professionals in the art sector. Each exhibition has its own curator who is ultimately responsible for those works that are displayed in the final exhibition. A committee comprising artists and professionals in the art museum sector and myself is responsible for augmenting the collections of Kiasma.

S-MJ: The director and the professionals who work with content.

Do external factors, such as sponsors, donators or marketing exert any influence on Kiasma's contents? Does Kiasma fight shy of contents in its exhibitions that could offend any one of your sponsors? Or does Kiasma select the works for its exhibitions on the grounds that they are more sensational to market?

BA: The exhibitions are made up of works that together form the best possible ensemble. If the content calls for more challenging opinions, more daring works, naturally we adhere to the demands of the content.
Of course, I want as many people as possible to come and see the art we display, but we display the said art because we believe in it, in its value, and not because we'd achieve the best marketing results with it. We don't generate our exhibitions in search of dead cert hits along the lines of the pop music world; rather, we rely on the fact that when we do our job well and seek out what we consider to be the most interesting exhibition collections, this gives our visitors the finest experience.

S-MJ: At this point, I must say that our partners want to work with us because we do new, bold and surprising things. If we aspired to a policy that had no smell or taste, we wouldn't be anywhere near as interesting a partner for our corporate partners as we are right now. Companies want to cooperate with organisations that have a strong brand and that do not compromise their core values. Kiasma has always been at the forefront of trends - not through its marketing, but specifically in terms of its content.

If I gave Kiasma a million euros, would that give me a say on what works should be procured for the collections?

BA: No.

S-MJ: You'd get to exert an effect on the formation of collections in that your donation would be used to acquire more art or art that's harder to come by than we would be able to procure for collections without your donation. However, the collection acquisition committee always decides on individual purchases, and you could not gain access there, not even for a million euros.

Of what use is a foundation to Kiasma? What is the ideal relationship between a museum and art collectors?

BA: The Kiasma Foundation acts in line with its name to support Kiasma. Support in this instance refers to financial support and to supporting activities, such as through networks. The Foundation's activities are grounded in voluntarism and passion. I personally feel it's very important that we have gathered round ourselves people who are prepared to give their time and their contacts in order to further Kiasma's development.

Throughout the ages, it has largely been due to art collectors that historically outstanding art collections have taken shape in Finland. In the international contemporary art field, museums and art collectors frequently work together with the shared objective of promoting artists and advancing the standing of art. We gladly engage in cooperation with all such parties that want to be involved in promoting Finnish contemporary art and in creating an internationally interesting profile for Kiasma.

S-MJ: The field of contemporary art is fundamentally so international that operating within it cannot succeed without adopting international practices. The Kiasma Foundation signifies new beginnings for us in the sense that in addition to our networks, we now also have an active group of supporters. Here at Kiasma, we're open to all kinds of cooperation because Kiasma is a strong brand and we're strategically on a brilliant development curve.

Art doesn't produce. Whose responsibility is it to cover the costs that are incurred by the fact that in principle, anyone at all can just walk in through the door of the contemporary art museum to look at works of art whose prices could provide a living for the average citizen several times over?

BA: Art produces several things, including financial value. Art produces human capital, enlightenment and cultural continuity. It produces innovations and creates a context for a new kind of thinking. The economic value of art lies in its direct and indirect impacts; for instance, it has been found that people who take an interest in culture remain healthier. Art also has significance as the promoter of the attraction of different regions and the developer of the national image. For instance, when companies recruit new creative staff for Helsinki, Kiasma plays a key role as the region's profiler.

S-MJ: I think the whole question is old-fashioned. If we view funding art specifically as an investment, it's clear from Kiasma's perspective that the largest provider of funds as well as the greatest benefiter is the State of Finland, in other words all of its citizens who enjoy the wellbeing produced by experiences with art.

Research into the economic impact of art and the activities of art organisations has been ongoing for a long time. The development is ongoing, and the challenge is to find comparable research material on how the activities of art organisations affect the economic wellbeing of society in reality. Great Britain is currently at the forefront of research but there is a lot of research being conducted into economic impact in Europe and the United States. Dialogue on whether art produces economic wellbeing is no longer of interest per se - what is important is to ask how much economic wellbeing the art sector produces and what its long-range impact on the structure of the whole of society will be.

Does the Anniversary Year Committee have anything to do with funding?

BA: Yes, in the sense that we listen to the Committee's opinions and proposals with an extremely sensitive ear when making plans to develop the funding structure. The social networks that open up through the Committee are also crucial when we consider funding on a wide scale.

S-MJ: The Committee is primarily a group of experts whose professional skill and expertise gives us the opportunity to create a level of strategic competence that would otherwise be impossible. Sharing new plans with members of the Committee has helped me to develop funding planning creatively and also to take social structures into broader consideration. At Kiasma, we also recognise the responsibility of our position as a forerunner organisation. Through our activities, it is possible to exert an influence on the attitude that decision-making in society will adopt on matters such as the procurement of external funding by cultural organisations.

Can there be too much money? In other words, does your appetite increase the more you eat? What will be Kiasma's ideal situation in 2011?

BA: My hopes with regard to Kiasma's content wouldn't change even if we had ten times the money we have now. When I came to Kiasma, I had a very clear understanding of Kiasma's position then and in which direction I wanted to start developing it. This development has started, even though increased financial resources are are still a long way off.

Increased funding would most probably lead quickly to three fundamental changes. Additional funding would be seen the fastest in art procurements. My dream is to expand Kiasma's collections in an international direction. However, this won't happen without considerable additional input into the acquisition budget. A second clear change would be in the number of staff. Kiasma's staff does brilliant work in challenging conditions. There are no surplus resources and barely any time for research. I'd use the extra money to hire more staff. The third clear target for development is Kiasma's international identity. Greater resources would increase Kiasma's potential as a more visible actor in the international art arena, bringing Finnish contemporary art to the attention of the world. I believe that we will be able to further develop the museum's international activities in cooperation with the Kiasma Foundation. The effects should be visible for all to see in ARS 2011.

My dream for Kiasma is to firmly establish the museum's international stature and to expand its content. Making the dream a reality will bring about the development of the Finnish art field as a whole as well as the development of its actors.

S-MJ: From the perspective of a person who works with funding, there can never be too much money. However, the current challenge is to cover the basic needs for the museum to operate. We're focusing on the strategic development of our operations and on safeguarding our core functions. But we've already made plans in anticipation of better times ahead. I believe that if you can articulate your vision clearly enough, you will find people who are prepared to support it. Kiasma's vision has already attracted several new major supporters, and I believe that as this development continues, the museum's activities will be on an even firmer foundation by 2011.

-Milla Unkila