Mediarata

Mediarata grant is a form of financial aid paid out from the Ministry of Education and Culture’s special appropriations to enhance the media art production culture.

For what?

Mediarata grants are intended for the enhancement of the production culture of media art companies.

Grants may be awarded to projects that strive towards the Mediarata grant goals by developing the production strategy, processes or services of a company through new media art pieces. A project must involve the promotion of media art by at least two artists.

To whom?

The Mediarata project application process is primarily intended for independent production companies or consortiums that produce media art and continuously aim to produce new works.

A consortium refers to a collaborative venture between two or more production companies. If the applicant is a consortium, one of the companies will act as the applicant and take responsibility for the reporting. All the companies in a consortium must keep track of the costs and submit their accounting information to the applicant company for reporting.

Any company with legal capacity, registered to Finland, may apply.

Application schedule

  • The application period will start on 11 November and end on 13 December 2024 at 16:00.
  • The decisions will be announced in January 2025.
  • NOTE! The project report and final grant report must be submitted in accordance with the agreement with AVEK, but no later than 28 November 2025.

Support amounts

The support amounts that can be applied for are 10,000 or 15,000 euros. The support applied for can be up to 80% of the total estimated cost of the project.

Decisions

The Mediarata applications will be reviewed by a group of experts. Media Art Commissioner and Advisor Milla Moilanen will serve as AVEK’s representative.

The evaluation will be based on a comprehensive assessment, factoring in the development project goals planned by an applicant company and the project’s implementation plan in relation to the Mediarata grant objectives. Furthermore, a company’s operational quality in terms of substance, functionality and professionality, as well as the continuity of the media art production culture within the company, are evaluated.

Any previously awarded Mediarata grants, their realisation and effectiveness will also be taken into account in the evaluation. In addition to that, the Ministry of Education and Culture’s strategic impact goals and commitments, as well as the general criteria for granting state aid, will be included in the review.

The expert group may request further information or invite representatives of applicant organisations for an interview.

AVEK’s Board of Directors will confirm the expert group’s decisions. The applicants will be notified of the decisions via email.

Payment and reporting

A written agreement will be signed with all successful applicants.

The grants will be paid out in two instalments. A grant recipient must create a payment plan via AVEK’s application system. The final instalment must amount to at least 20% of the total grant amount and it will be paid once the final report has been approved.

The final report of a project must be submitted in accordance with the agreement with AVEK, but no later than 28 November 2025.

Reasons why grants may not be awarded

A project application will be rejected if it arrives after the deadline.

An applicant organisation must have submitted all the necessary reports on their previous grants.

Grants may not be awarded for a company’s routine operations, fixed costs or acquisition of basic software or equipment.

Grants may not be used to cover exhibition costs.

Grants are not awarded retrospectively.

Funding and restrictions

A grant may cover up to 80 per cent of the eligible costs of a project.

The eligible costs of a project include those incurred after the application’s submission for purposes stated in the application.

The grant amount, together with all other public aid, may not exceed the amount of the eligible costs.

Mediarata support is based on the Ministry of Education and Culture’s special assistance. It is a form of de minimis (of little consequence) aid, in accordance with the EU’s state aid regulations, and the maximum amount granted to a company is €200,000 within three consecutive tax years.

Application

Mediarata project applications are created via AVEK’s online application system from the Mediarata application that opens on 11 November. In addition to this application notification, please remember to read the grant guidelines at the bottom of the page.

An applicant organisation can register with the system by signing in for the first time. You should register with a personal email address, not the general address for your organisation or similar.

Once registered, create a new organisation account on the ‘Make an application’ (‘Tee hakemus’) page. The main user of an organisation will be set as the lead user of the account. The lead user of an organisation account can add new users as members of the organisation and delete them if necessary.

Application form

In addition to the general information about the company and the artists behind the works described in the application, the following must be included:

Application title

Include the identifier MERA8 in front of the name of your application.
Next, name your application clearly and unambiguously in terms of your project. (PLEASE NOTE: do not use MERA8 as the full name of your project!)

A brief description of how you intend to use a grant in layman’s terms

A short description of your project to enhance the production culture of media art, as well as the works to be promoted as part of the project (max. 250 characters).

The duration of the project

Note that the final report must be submitted by 28 November 2025.

The applied amount and overall budget

The applied amount may not exceed 80% of the overall budget.

An itemised cost estimate for the project

Please provide a cost estimate and a funding plan for the project as a separate appendix. See more detailed instructions below in the list of compulsory appendices.

A more extensive content description

What is the goal of your project and what measures will you take to reach it?

The application must provide a detailed account of the means with which the company will develop its production models and culture. Please also describe the content and development of the works included in the project.

Working plan

A Mediarata project plan that specifies how the applicant organisation will carry out their project to enhance the production culture of media art. What will be done, where, when, why, how and by whom, and who will be the project’s target? The working plan should also specify the status of the planning or production of the media art works at the start of the project, and how the production will proceed during the project. It is not necessary to complete all works during the project.

Please also describe the presentation and distribution plans for the works to be developed in the project, and provide a detailed description of any presentation and distribution promotion to be carried out.

Compulsory appendices:

  • A script or some other content plan: Descriptions of at least two artists’ individual pieces that the production company will promote during the project, max. one page/piece. You may also attach the scripts as necessary.
  • A cost estimate, i.e. a budget and a financial plan:
    a. A cost estimate for the project. The calculations must specify which costs of the works to be promoted in the project will be covered by the project budget. Please check AVEK’s grant guidelines to see the types of costs that may be covered with a Mediarata grant. For example, a project’s costs may not include exhibition costs or equipment acquisition.
    b. The financial plan must include the Mediarata grant applied for from AVEK, the amount of self-financing and any other funding. A Mediarata grant may only cover up to 80% of the costs stated in a project’s cost estimate.
  • An itemisation of the self-financing proportion (required if self-financing is used): For example, the use of a company’s own production equipment and human resources, as well as a confirmation of any other funding. Check the section ‘Self-financing’ (‘Omarahoitus’) in the grant guidelines below for the approved forms of self-financing.
  • An account of an applicant’s past operations: A limited liability company must list the members of its current board. Otherwise, please provide a short description of the persons in charge and the main people involved in the project.
  • A production company’s tax debt certificate: If a project is shared by several companies, each company must submit its own tax debt certificate.

You may include other appendices as necessary. The appendices may include links, for example to material that illustrates the works.

Inquiries:

Milla Moilanen
Media Art Advisor

Tel. +358 (0)40 900 9199
milla.moilanen(at)avek.kopiosto.fi

Please use the application system to submit or access your application.

 

Mediarata grants are forms of financial aid paid out from the Ministry of Education and Culture’s special appropriations to enhance the media art production culture.

The Mediarata project application process is intended for independent production companies or consortiums that produce media art, are registered in Finland, have legal capacity and continuously aim to produce new media art.

A consortium refers to a collaborative venture between two or more production companies. If the applicant is a consortium, one of the companies will act as the applicant and take responsibility for the reporting. All the companies in a consortium must keep track of the costs and submit their accounting information to the applicant company for reporting.

Grant criteria

An applicant may decide on the grant amount to be applied for. Mediarata support may account for up to 80% of a project’s overall cost estimate.

Mediarata support is a form of de minimis (of little consequence) aid, in accordance with the EU’s state aid regulations, and the maximum amount granted to a company is €200,000 within three consecutive tax years. An applicant company is responsible for ensuring that the maximum amount is not exceeded.

A company or a consortium must have a plan on how their project will enhance the media art production culture. Moreover, a project must include works from at least two artists in order to qualify for a grant.

An applicant must be legally required to keep accounting records.

Grants will not be allocated to the following:

  • applications submitted after the application period deadline
  • retrospective costs of completed works
  • presentation programmes or commissioned productions of companies, institutions or communities
  • commissioned productions of TV companies
  • feature-length fiction films, including animations
  • animation or fiction shows
  • music videos or projected backgrounds
  • productions by educational institutions
  • educational films or learning materials
  • self-published films or other works
  • productions made as a hobby
  • equipment purchases
  • software purchases
  • exhibitions, exhibition costs, performances or events.

If an applicant has not submitted their reports linked to previous grant decisions in time or at all, they are ineligible for any new financial support.

Application process

Grants must be applied for via AVEK’s application system within the application timeframe stated in the application notification.

Self-financing

The approved forms of self-financing include:

  • work carried out by production company owners as part of a production
  • use of a company’s own equipment (max. 60% of the rental price of similar equipment)
  • salary transfers agreed in writing from key members of the working group
  • bank guarantees or other such guarantees from a financial institution
  • free equity.

Agreement procedure

  • A written grant agreement or commitment will be signed with a grant recipient via the application system.
  • A grant decision becomes binding when the recipient agrees to the grant agreement/commitment and the instalments via the application system with their signature.
  • If the grant agreement/commitment is not signed within three months of the grant decision, the decision will expire.

A grant may be recovered, if

  • it is not used within the agreed timeframe or for an approved purpose
  • the recipient has provided AVEK with misleading information, thereby affecting the grant allocation or the continuation of payments
  • the final report is not submitted within the agreed timeframe or in the agreed form, and the recipient has not agreed on a new procedure with AVEK.

If the costs end up being less than the budget on which the grant agreement was based, AVEK may cut the grant amount proportionately and recover the excess amount if the final instalment does not cover it.

Final report

The final report and the appendices must be submitted via AVEK’s application system. The final report must include the following information, either filled in on the application system form or as separate appendices (see below for a detailed list).

A short description: A description of the project and works, and a list of the main authors for public communications (max. 300 characters). Entered directly into the application system.

A written content report:

A description of how the project goals were met and the works created. Entered directly into the application system.

A financial report: A written report on the costs, funding and any deviation from the budget confirmed in the grant agreement. Entered directly into the application system.

A final, numerical financial report: A compulsory appendix signed by the producer and the accountant, and reviewed by the latter. The final report must be based on the accounts and include a comparison between the budget and funding plan confirmed in the agreement and the actual costs and funding, similarly to how the cost estimate was itemised in the application. Any major deviations must be explained in the producer’s written report. The accountant/accounting firm must confirm that the reported costs and funding are based on the company’s accounts and connected to the production in question.

The eligible project costs include those incurred after an application’s submission.

An excerpt of the accounts is not a valid form of a final report, but it may be submitted as an appendix to the report.

An auditor’s report: A compulsory appendix if the grant amount provided by AVEK for a project is €20,000 or more. (Applies to subsidies granted in 2024 or earlier.)

A description of the self-financing proportion, in accordance with the above definition of self-financing, entered either in the financial report section of the application system or as a separate appendix.

Images: All image files must be in JPG or PNG format. AVEK and Kopiosto have the right to use the images free of charge to illustrate their own operations, for example in publications and on the internet. The maximum file size is 4 MB.

Copyright

A grant recipient is responsible for all the copyright obligations pertaining to their work, such as the acquisition of rights and reporting.

More information about copyrights is available from the sector’s operators, including Kopiosto, Teosto, Kuvasto, Gramex and Sanasto.

Credits

All project materials and finished works must mention that the project or piece has received Mediarata support. AVEK’s general credit guidelines can be found from our “AVEK credits” page.