Fuel for the creativity highway: J-P Piirainen aims to crate space for everyday artistic work
Composer and musician Jussi-Pekka Piirainen steps into a new role as a doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy’s MuTri Doctoral School.
Piirainen began his doctoral studies in autumn 2024. His research project, Creativity Highway – Developing Self-Regulation Based Career Management Training for Portfolio Career Musicians, focuses on developing career management skills for freelance musicians. The goal is to create a career guidance model that helps musicians structure their work in a way that preserves time and energy for creativity.
During the pandemic, Piirainen noticed how many of his colleagues struggled with managing their daily work and often sought advice from him. This inspired him to explore how musicians could better organise their professional lives. According to Piirainen, a musician’s work isn’t just about the creative process but also involves communication, marketing, and various administrative tasks. He aims to find ways to manage these aspects of work life so that more time is available for creating art itself.
“Many musicians constantly juggle different roles and tasks, which can be exhausting. Through my research, I hope to develop tools that make it easier to navigate between various work assignments. I want to find sustainable models for musicians that support creative work but also ensure their well-being is maintained.”
Managing a multifaceted career requires holistic control
Piirainen’s goal is to develop a method that enables musicians to manage their careers comprehensively. His research focuses on two key concepts: portfolio careers and self-regulation. A portfolio career includes multiple employers, income sources, and roles, while self-regulation refers to managing one’s resources and time effectively. The aim is to create a career management model that helps musicians and other artists balance their diverse roles and find healthy ways to manage their careers.
“Creativity requires the ability to focus on one thing at a time, without rushing. I want to promote artists’ well-being and help them find ways to continue their creative work successfully over a long career,” Piirainen explains.
The first phase of his research is a survey targeting musicians with portfolio careers. The goal is to identify the types of challenges they face in their various roles, how consciously they use self-regulation skills to ease their work life, which areas of portfolio careers tend to create the most friction, and which aspects of self-regulation could provide practical assistance in managing these conflicts.
“I often think about the stereotypical image of the struggling artist – but also of the idea that it doesn’t have to be that way. I believe we can find effective working models that support a multifaceted artistic career. For me, my calendar and note-taking tools are my best colleagues.”
The highway metaphor: towards a healthy artistic career
Piirainen describes the portfolio career as a metaphorical four-lane highway. Each lane represents a different work role – for example, musician, composer, producer, or teacher. Various cars – individual projects – travel along each lane. However, there is only one fuel station on the highway, where all projects refuel.
“At life’s fuel station, there’s only a limited amount of energy to go around. Through my research, I want to provide artists with strategies to decide how to allocate that energy among different projects so that they all get the fuel they need without the artist burning out.”
Piirainen’s research highlights the diverse nature of a musician’s work today. He hopes to contribute his findings to the training and courses offered by the University of the Arts Helsinki and other institutions. He envisions creating educational materials and packages that would support not only musicians but also other artists and professionals across creative fields.
“For example, there could be a website that acts as a first-aid kit for artists facing challenges in managing portfolio careers,” Piirainen envisions.
His aim is to help musicians and artists achieve a balanced and sustainable career.
“The University of the Arts Helsinki offers a unique environment to explore these questions. We have an incredible amount of talent here, but it could all go to waste if artists lack the tools to manage their careers,” Piirainen emphasises.