This dataset consists of transcribed expert interviews on the use of public art in regional planning and development. The interviewees included representatives of private development or consulting companies working in Finland, experts on public art, and one urban activist working in the third sector. The interviews covered themes such as the economic value of art projects commissioned as part of area development projects and the impact of public art. The interviews were conducted as semi-structured theme interviews. The themes of the interview were sent to the participants in advance, and the order of the themes and the emphasis placed on them varied slightly depending on the interviewee. The representatives of private development or consulting firms worked in the capital area, and their interviews focused more on the profitability of art investments in regional development. The art experts interviewed in the data were located all over Finland, and the main themes in their interviews focused on the identity and competitive strength of urban areas and the amenity of residents. Additionally, each interviewee was asked about the regional development and art projects they had personally been involved in. If there was time at the end of the interview, the interviewees were also asked to comment on two previous studies on the use of art in development projects. The data were collected as part of the Creative Expertise project coordinated by the European Social Fund (ESF) and Ornamo Art and Design Finland. Background information included, for instance, the interviewee's occupation, gender, industry of employment, and municipality of residence. The data were organised into an easy to use HTML version at FSD. The dataset is only available in Finnish.

2021