The possible merger of the Artists’ Association of Finland and its member organisations has been a topic of discussion among visual artists recently. The Finnish Sculptors’ Association’s general meeting has decided that the association will not participate in the legal merger and will remain an independent association. However, cooperation with STS and its member associations is considered important and will be further developed.

STS, AV-Arkki, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, and Kuvataiteen talo ry commissioned a report funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture on the possible integration of visual arts operators. Frame and Kuvataiteen talo participated as information providers, and the study focused on examining the situation of STS and its member organisations as well as media art operators.

The purpose of the study was to obtain more information about the actors and the internal needs of the field in a changing funding landscape so that the actors could continue to serve artists as well as possible.

The report, compiled by researcher Juha Heikkala, was completed in the spring of 2025 and published in June 2025. During the spring, STS organised two open discussion events and SKL organised one event exclusively for its members.

The board of the Sculptors’ Association decided to begin discussions with its members on the basis of the report during the fall of 2025. The report maps out the current situation of STS and its member organizations and presents four different options: Continue as before, intensify cooperation, merge legally, or adopt some other models.

The STS board, which consists of the chairpersons of artists’ organisations, has decided to further investigate the model of legal integration in accordance with the report’s recommendation.

In September, STS organised events for officials and union representatives to discuss various future scenarios from different perspectives. In addition, a discussion event open to all was held in October.

The board of the Sculptors’ Association has communicated to its members from the outset that it does not wish to take a position on the matter. The board considered that it was in the union’s interest and a responsible course of action to participate in the discussions, obtain more information, and prepare a discussion for its own members based on the report. At this stage, none of the associations has committed to a possible merger, and this has been clearly communicated.

In August, STS applied to the Kordelin Foundation for funding for the transition phase of the merger, the core of which was the hiring of a community manager and extensive consultation with members. The aim of the application was to obtain funding to consult members extensively and to outline a concrete model for a possible merger based on Heikkala’s report.

SKL, STG, TML, VTL, and Muu ry were partners in the application, and SKL and Muu presented their own preconditions for the application. The application and partnership letter clearly state that none of the operators are committed to integration.

A working group of eight members of the association requested, with the signatures of 116 members, that the board convene an extraordinary general meeting, which was held on September 22.

The extraordinary general meeting decided that SKL would continue as an independent association and would not participate in any form of legal merger. Some of the decisions made at the meeting were left to be discussed at the autumn meeting. Many different views were presented at the meeting, and there were differing opinions on the decisions. After the meeting, the Sculptors’ Association clarified its guidelines on meeting practices.

The matter was further discussed at the SKL’s autumn meeting on November 7, where it was decided that cooperation between the STS member associations would continue and be developed. The SKL will continue to participate in related discussions, but not in discussions directly promoting integration.