Mobility funding

Mobility funding gives individual applicants access to contacts, expertise and knowledge from different parts of the region. Funding can also be used to present art and culture productions and to raise interest in Nordic and Baltic art and culture.

Mobility funding is available for professional artists’ or cultural practitioners’ travel and/or stay within the Nordic and/or Baltic countries, that is to say: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Åland.

For example, the purpose of the trip can be:

• Co-operation with colleagues in one or more other Nordic and/or Baltic countries
• Guest performances
• Exhibitions
• Participation in conferences, meetings or workshops
• Research

Funding is not available for:

• Trips within one and the same country/area
• Trips to or from countries outside the Nordic/Baltic region
• Trips which are a part of the applicant’s formal studies
• Organisational or company travel
• Official travel for employees in public administration – e.g. state authorities, municipalities, regions or the equivalent.
• Activities that have already been carried out. The earliest start date for activities funded by the programme is eight weeks after the application deadline.
• Mobility funding is not usually granted for residential stays. The reason is that the programme supports residential activities through a special form of funding (residential funding). However, not all residencies are covered by residential funding. Since the primary purpose of mobility funding is to strengthen artistic and cultural co-operation between professionals, travel applications for a residential stay can be taken into account if the primary purpose of the stay is co-operation with other artists.
• Students are not granted mobility funding. However, professional artists and cultural practitioners can apply for funding in some cases, if the purpose of the trip is not linked to studies, but is part of the artist’s continued professional work.

How long can I use the funding?

• The trip may commence no earlier than eight weeks after the application deadline.
• The trip must be completed within one year of the funding decision.

Funding is available for professional artists and cultural practitioners (such as curators, producers, literary translators, cultural editors or researchers) in all forms of art and culture.

• “Professional” means that there is documented experience of work in the field of art and culture and/or training in art or culture.
• Mobility funding can only be granted to individuals. You cannot apply on behalf of another person, i.e. organisations cannot apply for funding to invite artists.
• If you apply as part of a group traveling together within the framework of the same project, all group members must submit individual applications.
• The user account that you create in our application system must be for an individual applicant in order to apply for mobility funding.
• To be able to apply for mobility funding, the applicant must be a resident of the Nordic Region (Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Åland) or the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania), although the applicant does not have to be a Nordic or Baltic citizen.

Mobility funding applies to travel and/or stays of up to 14 days. The amount of funding is based on a fixed travel cost and/or a fixed allowance per day which is calculated according to the length of the stay and destination. Please note that the application system calculates the amount automatically, and all applicants receive the same amount for the same itinerary. You can calculate the funding amount here.

• Although the stay can last more than 14 days, the mobility funding cannot cover more than that.
• Only one application can be submitted per application round. The web-based application form automatically calculates the amount based on the destination and return date.
• You cannot claim funding for production costs and the like.

Additional funding for applicants with disabilities

• A supplement can be applied for by professional artists and cultural practitioners who, due to a disability, require personal assistance. The application should explain what type of assistance will be required during the trip.

Calculate the funding amount in the travel calculator

The Nordic–Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture encourages more sustainable travel which you may benefit from in two ways:

Multiple destinations on the same trip

• You may apply for funding for a journey that includes several destinations, provided that all destinations are connected to the same project. This can help reduce the emissions associated with making several separate trips.
• If you want to stay for a few days in several destinations, you must attach invitations from each destination, i.e. each stage/section of the trip must be justified. However, funding is not granted for tours.
• Please note that an application may not include several separate trips at different times.
• The traveller must always return to the same destination they left from.

You can choose to travel slowly

• You may plan your journey without air travel for environmental reasons, even if the total amount requested is higher than the cost of a direct flight.
• Journeys without flights should be entered in the travel calculator as trips with multiple destinations.

The application form will also ask you to reflect on the social and economic sustainability of your trip.

An invitation or letter of intent must be attached to the application. The attachment must confirm the trip and it must state who is invited and by whom. In addition, an invitation can also contain information about what the applicant is being offered by the inviting party. The appendix must be in English.

A portfolio may also be attached, although this is not compulsory. The portfolio must be relevant to the content of the application and visually support what is written on the application. Please note that a CV is not considered a portfolio.

The assessment is made according to how well the above criteria are met and how well the application conveys the following:

Opportunities for co-operation

• The contribution of the trip to meetings and new contacts, and the promotion of new groups and initiatives.

Quality and content

• The assessment takes into account the quality of the applicant’s artistry or previous work and the traveller’s motivation for the trip, as well as the purpose and how the applicant intends to achieve their goals.
• If the goal is to contribute to knowledge of new art forms and expressions, this can also be taken into account.

The Nordic–Baltic dimension

In this context, the Nordic–Baltic dimension means that the trip:

• Promotes and increases contact, communication and activities between the Nordic and/or Baltic countries
• Strengthens the Nordic–Baltic presence in the cultural scene of the Nordic and Baltic region
• Strengthens understanding of the similarities and differences between the Nordic and Baltic countries and
• Improves awareness of Nordic and Baltic artists and their work.

Make sure you always mention your funders in all project communication – together we demonstrate that a form of funding is required.

Trips that have been granted mobility funding must use the logo of the Nordic–Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.

Download the logo and get tips on how you can refer to us in texts and on social media here.