The TAKU story

Our association was founded in 1975 as Suomen kulttuurisihteerit ry (“cultural secretaries of Finland”) but following rapid growth in member numbers and an expanded membership base the name was changed in 1990 to Taide- ja kulttuurihalinnon ammattijärjestö (“art and culture administration professional association”), or TAKU for short.

TAKU and Akava Special Branches

In 1991, TAKU joined Akava Special Branches, then known in Finnish as Akavan Erityisalojen Keskusliitto AEK, and simultaneously the Unemployment Fund for Higher Educated Employees ERKO.

The diversifying types of employment and roles in the sector in the early nineties created the need to respond to changed demand. At the same time, the number of unionized art and culture professionals was growing. The process for admitting new members was simplified and even more hands-on production professionals wanted to join TAKU. The rules and name were changed to reflect reality, “cultural administration” was replaced with “culture sector”, and thus the modern Art and Culture Professionals’ Trade Union TAKU was born.