“In times of ever-increasing threats, it’s more important than ever to meet and move things forwards through dialogue. The Nordic-Baltic mobility programme’s network funding for the cultural sector is a direct counterforce to polarisation in society,” says Katarina Lindholm, chair of the mobility programme’s expert group for network funding.
Eight projects were awarded short-term network funding, and four were granted long-term network funding when the Nordic-Baltic mobility programme’s expert group met in Helsinki on 9 April.
Katarina Lindholm notes that several applications came from Baltic actors seeking to strengthen contacts and co-operation within specific sectors, in order to enhance Baltic competitiveness and expertise within these networks. One project that received funding was Baltic Dance Network: Navigating Identity in the Face of Changes.
“We also chose to fund several networks aiming to strengthen and highlight marginalised or overlooked parts of the Nordic-Baltic cultural scene. One example of this is the Nordic Network for Transnational Craft Perspectives, which focuses on traditional crafts among Roma communities in the Nordic Region,” says Lindholm.
Resilience enables survival
Many applications were submitted for projects working to improve resilience, capacity, and working conditions within particular areas of the cultural sector.
“If it’s difficult to mobilise capacity and inspiration at a local level, network co-operation that builds and maintains contacts with colleagues in the region can offer both coaching and allies,” explains Lindholm.
Meeting up and organising one’s co-operation also provides the strength to carry on in spite of challenging times. For example, Museum Why was awarded long-term network funding to explore future possibilities for museum activities in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
Urgent projects received funding
Lindholm notes that the quality of applications for long-term funding – which is only awarded once a year – was very high, and the group wanted to prioritise these. Nevertheless, some strong applications were inevitably left without funding after the expert group made its assessments.
“We’ve tried to identify projects that are in particular need of funding right now, and have chosen to prioritise these in order to provide the greatest possible benefit to the field,” says Lindholm.
A total of EUR 377,000 was distributed as long-term network funding, and EUR 158,000 as short-term network funding.
- See all the projects that received short-term network funding in this round here
- See all the projects that received long-term network funding in this round here
The second application round for short-term network funding this year opens at the end of August.