The expert group for Mobility Funding met online on 26 March for their first decision meeting this year. The meeting was initially planned to take place in the capital of Lithuania, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic the trip to Vilnius was cancelled, and the expert meeting was held online.
Nordic Culture Point received 265 applications in this round and the applied amount was in total 681 090 euro. The expert group decided to grant a total of 167 840 euro to 79 projects in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Among the artists who received support was the Icelandic poet and performer Elías Portela. Portela is taking part in the international project ‘To write dance and to dance writing’ organised by the Writers’ Centre West in Sweden in the partnership with Danskompaniet Spinn, Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature, Norsk Forfattersentrum and New Writing North in Newcastle. The project has an overall LGBTQI theme and Elías Portela will participate in workshops, creations and performances where dance and literature entwine.
A group that received funding in this round was the Finnish multicultural women’s NGO association DaisyLadies ry. They will be cooperating with the Icelandic Women of multicultural ethnicity network (W.O.M.E.N ) on the project ‘Nordic Ladies’. The goal is to create a network between immigrant women and girls in Nordic countries and increase knowledge through art and culture-based well-being services. The project provides real opportunities for intercultural exchange, collaboration and new constellations.
The Swedish group Biräddarna received funding for traveling with their musical theatre ‘HOORAY, a Bee!’. It is aimed at 3-5 year-old children, and the musicians and educators will do interactive singing and eurhythmics sessions and sing-along-performances in Espoo in Finland and on Åland. The project wants to arouse curiosity and awareness of the importance of bees, and to strengthen the Swedish language in Finland.
Mobility funding is to cover the travel and/or accommodation expenses of professional artists and cultural practitioners in the Nordic Region and/or Baltic countries.
The funding gives applicants – individuals or small groups – access to contacts, skills, and knowledge from different parts of the Nordic and Baltic regions. Funding can be used to present art and culture productions, as well as increase interest in Nordic and Baltic art and culture.
The upcoming application rounds for 2020 are:
17.07.2020 – 17.08.2020
18.09.2020 – 19.10.2020