The Cultural Bank of Northern Ostrobothnia's cultural and art makers
Oulu2026 has made art and culture a visible part of the everyday life of North Ostrobothnians. As the autumn progresses, the focus will also be on how to continue the activity and interest generated by the Year of Culture in the coming years. One way to continue working in the field of culture is the National Cultural Bank. It brings together art and culture professionals and their commissioned services in one place. – With the Oulu2026 year, the pulse of culture has increased in our region. The Cultural Bank of Finland is a good tool to maintain the heart rate in the future. The easy findability of cultural and artistic creators and ready-made services is an important part of this, says Samu Forsblom, Programme Director at the Oulu Cultural Foundation. From the Cultural Bank, an event organiser, a company, a municipality, a school, an association or a private person can find, for example, a performer for an event, a workshop for a school or a cultural programme for a staff day. The service offers music, performances, workshops, lectures, trainings and other art and culture content. Buying a cultural service must be easy The aim of the Cultural Bank is to lower the threshold for buying cultural and art services. The pre-described service will also help a subscriber who does not already have contacts with the creators of the field or an accurate understanding of what kind of cultural content could be acquired for his or her own event or activity. – The purchase of cultural services must be made as natural for companies, associations and municipalities as the purchase of other professional services, says Auli Suorsa, Culture Specialist at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The Cultural Bank already has more than 900 creative professionals and more than 800 services from 14 counties. Nearly 60 operators are currently involved in North Ostrobothnia. The aim is to increase the region's offering so that more and more cultural and artistic professionals in the region can be easily found even after the year of the Capital of Culture. – The more comprehensively Northern Ostrobothnian factors are involved in the service, the easier it will be for the region's cultural know-how to turn into orders and work, Auli Suorsa points out. The use of the Cultural Bank is free of charge for both authors and subscribers. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the service is made possible by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and the cultural services of the City of Oulu. Read more about the Cultural Bank on its own website and register as an author or subscriber: Kulttuuripankki.fi More information: Auli Suorsa, Senior Specialist, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, tel. +358 50 386 8443 auli.suorsa@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi Leena Pälli, Senior Specialist, City of Oulu, tel. +358 44 703 7210 leena.palli@ouka.f
