Deadline: 15-Sep-2025
The Nordic Culture Fund is accepting applications for its Northern European Mobility Opportunity Pilot Programme to foster international collaboration, strengthen artistic networks across the region and support more artists and arts professionals in engaging with international partners.
The call focuses on individual artists and arts practitioners in the early stages of their careers, reflecting a shared recognition among the partners that this group has a particular need for additional support and opportunities in the current climate. The Nordic countries, the UK and Ireland constitute a shared international space with fertile ground for creative collaborations.
The shared aims of this programme are to: Foster international collaboration. Develop artistic networks across the region. Encourage more artists and arts practitioners to work confidently with international partners. Help to apply – Accessibility and Inclusion.
This call is focused on individual artists and arts practitioners who are in the early stages of their artistic careers. Artists and arts practitioners based in the Nordic countries (Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the Åland Islands), as well as those in the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) and Ireland, are eligible to apply.
The eligibility criteria require that you are an individual artist or arts practitioner resident in one of the eligible countries and that you want to work with one or more artist(s), arts practitioner(s), or an organisation based in one of the other eligible countries. You can only be involved in one application to this fund, you must have a bank account in your country of residence, and you must have a background and track record of working as an artist or arts practitioner. You should have had limited opportunities to work internationally so far in your career and be applying for a new partnership or collaboration. You must be able to provide a letter of invitation from the person you want to work with and complete your collaboration within one year of receiving an award.
Organisations cannot apply, as only individuals can; however, organisations may be included in granted initiatives. Individuals with an established track record of working internationally are also not eligible, as this fund is for artists and arts practitioners in the early years of their career. The fund is not for individuals not based in, or not intending to work with, the eligible partner countries, students in full-time education (undergraduate or postgraduate), individuals planning to attend residencies abroad, or artists’ collectives involving multiple individual artists.
The call’s total budget would make possible up to 30 grants of up to DKK 75,000. They expect applications to focus on the early stages of partnership and collaboration, such as travel for partnership development, exchange of knowledge, mentorships, and capacity building. Expenditure should be on travel, accommodation, and allowances for time spent. You cannot spend the grant on capital expenditure, activities that start before you receive the grant, costs already covered by other funding, or activities that generate a profit.
Applications are managed through the Nordic Culture Fund’s application portal and will only be accepted through the online form. The mandatory materials to be submitted are a CV for the applicant and a letter of invitation from your chosen partner. The application form will ask questions about why you have chosen your partner, what you hope to achieve, the impact on your practice, and the potential for future developments. You will also be asked to submit a timeline and a basic budget breakdown in Danish Kroner.
Applications will be assessed against several criteria, including their significance for artists in the initial years of their careers, how they respond to specific needs or challenges, and whether the collaboration benefits the individual artist. The project structure, clarity of activities, timeline, and budget will also be evaluated for practicality and reasonableness. The quality of the reciprocal engagement within the partnership will be assessed, looking at whether it is a new approach to international collaboration, the rationale for partner selection, and if all partners will benefit. Finally, the potential for future developments and broader regional benefits will be considered, including the proposal’s potential impact, its contribution to broadening possibilities for practitioners across the Northern European cultural scene, and any plans to share learning with the wider creative sector. The application closes on 15 September 2025.
For more information, visit Nordic Culture Fund.
