


Art in Business
The project looks for new approaches to the development of working life, using creativity and future thinking.
Branch: Entrepreneurship and business
Duration: 1.9.2022 – 31.12.2023
Region: Central Ostrobothnia
Financed by: The European Social Fund
Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment
City of Kokkola
Project Manager: Minna Koivula

Objectives of action
- Developing and identifying strategic work, well-being at work, HR management, recruitment and development of competence as well as supporting interaction using creativity and future thinking.
- Strengthening the growth and development of enterprises and the resilience of businesses in the region in changing world situations.
- Developing a future-scenario tool and work packages that are art-based and support work-life.
Target group
The target group of the project is companies in the Kokkola region and their employees. The project extensively searches for
companies in different sectors, from small to medium-sized, including individual entrepreneurs.
The project aims to examine how creativity and future thinking could support companies’ development. The companies are offered workshop packages. The content of the packages is developed and mapped out on a company-by-company basis by looking at the company’s existing operating culture. The company can choose different workshop packages based on their needs.
The subjects of development
- Well-being at work
- Strategic development work
- Human Resources Management
- Resilience
- Recruitment
- Development and identification of competencies
- Interaction within the company and with customer interfaces
Centria UAS’s creative RDI experts

Who are we?
- Art pedagogues
- Cultural well-being experts
- Work community artists
We are looking for opportunities to learn from international partners, network with international organisations and teams and find new ways to use art in different environments.
Methods we use
- Art as a tool in hybrid environments
- Performing arts, visual arts and literary arts
- Multi-art projects
- Development with art-based methods
- Searching for new methods and approaches to use art and creativity
Our projects
We are currently working on the Art in Business Project (2022-2023) which looks for new approaches to working life development work, using creativity and future thinking. You can find more information about the projects by scrolling to the top of this page.
LUmOaVA Project 2017-2020
The main idea behind the project was to launch cultural and artistic activities that would support a new kind of involvement for the most vulnerable participants of the labour market and to contribute to the increase of their functional capacity and their ability to identify their own skills. We created a tool for comprehensive well-being based on different art-based methods.
OMA Project 2020-2022
OMA project helped to find new procedures to enhance the social participation of people in low labour markets by creating a social participation model that uses art-based methods and gamification. We created the creative customer participation handbook and a participation game for target group people.

Contact information
Minna Koivula
Sanna-Kaisa Karvonen