The Artists' Association of Finland supports and advices visual artists in professional matters concerning working as an artist. The services on this page are issued to all visual artists who have membership in one of our member organisations.
The Artists' Association of Finland will offer limited legal advice starting on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. The legal advice service has been made possible again through joint funding from the Artists' Association of Finland and its four member associations: Artists' Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, and The Association of Photographic Artists. Legal advice is intended for members of these four member associations.
How and in which matters is legal guidance given?
The Artists’ Association of Finland provides legal advice and information on matters related to the legal aspects of working as an artist. The legal advisor assists in matters related to contracts as well as copyright, taxation and social security issues.
Legal advice is intended for members of Artists' Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, and The Association of Photographic Artists, which are involved in financing the service. Member artists of the Finnish Painters' Union can continue to contact the Finnish Painters' Union for legal advice.
Guidance and advice on matters related to association legislation is available to the community members of member associations.
As a general rule, legal services are not intended for the purposes of addressing disputes between members or member associations. The service focuses on proactive advice and does not include, for example, assisting artists in court. The service also does not apply to legal matters that fall within the scope of private life, such as wills or inheritance matters.
Legal advice may direct the artist to contact the Artists' Association's partner law firms. The services of law firms are at the artist's own expense, and the artist must contact them directly. The Artists' Association is not responsible for agreements or assignments between the artist and the law firm.
Each member of Artists' Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, and The Association of Photographic Artists is entitled to one consultation during 2025. Legal advice services have been reduced from previous levels due to cultural cuts affecting the association.
Instructions for contacting
1. Check if you can find the answer to your question on the Making a living as a visual artist website.
2. If you have a specific question (short consultation):
You can call the legal advisor during open telephone hour on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m.
The legal advisor's open telephone hour is on Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. at +35840 589 9548. During the telephone hour, you can contact us with specific questions regarding, for example, taxation, copyright, or artists' pension security. The duration of an open telephone hour call is 15 minutes.
3. If you want to have your contract checked, need help responding to a request for clarification from the authorities, or the matter otherwise requires further examination: Book a personal telephone consultation from the appointment calendar. Appointments must be booked in advance via the online appointment calendar. When contacting us, please mention which member union you belong to.
Appointments are available on Tuesdays between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. and last 15 minutes. We ask that you submit any relevant material before your appointment. If the relevant material contains personal data, please send it via secure email using the Turvaposti.fi service. Send a request to open a secure email connection by email to briitta.kuokkanen@artists.fi.
The matter may be resolved immediately during the appointment consultation or may require further investigation. Legal Advice will respond in writing to all appointment consultations within three weeks.
Link to the appointment calendar: Book a telephone consultation
4. Each member of Artists' Association MUU, the Association of Finnish Sculptors, the Association of Finnish Printmakers, and The Association of Photographic Artists is entitled to one consultation during 2025.
5. The legal advisor does not respond to email inquiries.
Partner law firms
Legal advice may direct the artist to contact the Artists' Association's partner law firms. The services of law firms are at the artist's own expense, and the artist must contact them directly. As an artist, you can also contact the offices directly if you already know that the matter is demanding and will take a long time to resolve.
Discounts are available to all members of the AAF member associations (including members of the Finnish Painters' Union). Please remember to mention your membership when contacting the firms.
The Artists' Association is not responsible for agreements or assignments between the artist and the law firm.
Dottir
Dottir provides legal services to communities and artists operating as companies. Members of AAF member associations can receive services at a member price of €270/hour (VAT 0%), which is a 20% discount on the normal hourly rate of €330/hour (VAT 0%). A separate price estimate can be provided for each individual assignment.
The Dottir law firm has extensive experience in the specific characteristics of the arts sector. Dottir's experts' areas of expertise include contract law, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights (including copyright), company and association law, and labor law. Services not included in the scope of services include tax law, family and inheritance law, and criminal law services. Dottir has the right to refuse an individual assignment if necessary, for example due to a conflict of interest.
Contact: Sofia Wang, Associate; sofia.wang@dottirlaw.com / +358 45 230 8389
www.dottirlaw.com
Eversheds
Eversheds provides legal services to the member associations of the Artists' Association of Finland and to the individual members of those associations. Members receive a 15% discount on standard hourly rates.
The membership discount covers, among other things, the following matters: general registration and tax matters related to a member's business and entrepreneurial activities, studio rental matters, transactions involving movable property, including transaction errors, compensation for damages (excluding matters related to official liability), intellectual property matters, and association law matters. The law firm will agree on each assignment directly with the member and charge the agreed fees and expenses directly to the member.
Contact us at taiteilijat@eversheds.fi. Enquiries will be directed to a lawyer with special expertise in the subject area.
www.eversheds.fi
Lehtinen Legal Oy
Lottaliina Pokkinen, Licentiate of Laws (OTL), runs Lehtinen Legal, which offers services related to contracts and copyright for creative professionals. Assignments are billed according to the time spent on them.
Contact details: lottaliina@lehtinenlegal.fi / www.lehtinenlegal.fi
Holders of the international IAA/UNESCO card are entitled to free or discounted admission to museums all over the world.
In Finland, the International Identity Card for Professional Artists is granted by the Artists’ Association of Finland. The members of the following member associations of the Finnish Artists' Association are entitled to the card: Artists' Association Muu, The Association of Finnish Sculptors, The Association of Finnish Print Makers, Finnish Painters' Union or The Association of Photographic Artists.
Electronic IAA card (in Gruppo ID application)
1. Download the application Gruppo ID from the App Store or Google Play on your phone or tablet.
2. Click the REGISTER button on the home page of the Gruppo ID application.
3. A link to the registration page will be sent to your email address.
4. Click the registration link in the email and complete the registration.
5. Open the Gruppo ID application, click the LOGIN button and enter the password you created.
6. The application shows your association's electronic membership card and simultaneously an international IAA card opens in the application. Upload a profile picture to the IAA card and the card is ready to use. For the card to be valid, a profile picture must be uploaded to the card.
The Artists’ Association of Finland has published a guide Artist wellbeing. This guide provides advice for visual artists on how to find information on issues related to comprehensive wellbeing at work.
KIILA rehabilitation course 2025–2026
The Artists’ Association of Finland offers professional visual artist members of its member associations the opportunity to seek rehabilitation services to support their ability to work. The KIILA rehabilitation course organised by Kruunupuisto Oy in Punkaharju. The course is free for attendees. Kela pays a rehabilitation allowance during the rehabilitation period and also covers some of the travel expenses incurred as part of the rehabilitation course.
The 12-month course provides attendees with versatile support for work, health and lifestyle improvements. The objective of the rehabilitation course is to improve and support attendees’ ability to work and help them continue to work to the degree that their needs allow. The KIILA rehabilitation course consists of group periods and individual coaching, which are tailored to the attendees’ work and life situations.
The course will be held in periods between 2025 and 2026 and will consist of group sessions and individual coaching, taking into account the work and life situations of the course participants.
DATES
- Situation assessment (remote participation possible): initial meeting and 1 day visit during the period 8 December 2025–19 January 2026
- Group visits to Kruunupuisto
- January 20–23, 2026
- June 1–5, 2026
- September 29–October 2, 2026
- Individual visit (remote participation possible): 1–5 visits during the period January 26–October 30, 2026
- Final meeting (remote participation possible): 1 visit during the period 2–18 December 2026
Who is KIILA rehabilitation intended for?
You can apply to the KIILA rehabilitation course if you are a professional visual artist who belongs to one of Artists’ Association of Finland's member organizations and
- the symptoms of your condition make working and everyday tasks difficult for you
- your need for rehabilitation has been duly recognised by an occupational health care provider
- you want support to help you keep working
- you have an illness or injury that has significantly reduced or may significantly reduce your ability to work and earn a living in the next few years
How do I apply for rehabilitation?
The 2025 application period has been extended and will end on October 31, 2025. Apply as follows:
- Make an appointment with your doctor. You will need a medical statement B from your doctor to attach to your application.
- In order for Kela to grant rehabilitation, the statement B must be based on a diagnosis and describe how the symptoms of your condition affect your work and everyday life. The statement must also recommend rehabilitation.
- The B statement can be written by a health center doctor, occupational health doctor, or specialist.
- Fill in Kela application KU101.
- Important: enter course number 93713 on the application!
- If necessary, you can get help filling in the form from Kruunupuisto expert Maarit Tervonen (maarit.tervonen@kruunupuisto.fi).
- Submit your application and attachments to Kela by October 31, 2025, at the latest.
- We hope you will inform the Artists' Association of Finland (laura.salo@artists.fi / 040 8345 170) that you have applied for rehabilitation. Information about the number of applicants will help the Artists' Association and Kruunupuisto in organizing the course: if necessary, we can ask Kela to expedite its decisions and we will be able to inform artists about any available places.
KIILA - Vocationally oriented rehabilitation course on Kela's website
Read more (in Finnish)
The Artists’ Association of Finland doesn’t have personal members. However, artists automatically become members when they belong to one of the following five organisations: Artists' Association MUU, The Association of Finnish Sculptors, The Association of Finnish Printmakers, Finnish Painters' Union and The Association of Photographic Artists. More information about membership applications can be found directly from each association.
The services of Artists’ Association of Finland are automatically available to members of the following associations: Finnish Painters’ Union, Association of Finnish Sculptors, Association of Photographic Artists, Association of Finnish Printmakers and Artists’ Association MUU. Legal guidance is also available for community members of the Union of Finnish Art Associations and the Association of Photographic Artists.