The programme is administered by Nordic Culture Point, a Nordic cultural institute in Helsinki (Finland).

Who can apply?

Anyone active in the field of art and culture can apply, as long as the project meets the programme criteria and is realised by way of co-operation with partners from at least three countries, at least two of which must be Nordic. In this context, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland are considered as Nordic countries.

Country affiliation is assessed according to the partners’ registered addresses, not nationality. The person submitting the application does not need to be resident in the Nordic Region, as long as the Nordic dimension of the project is met in terms of its partners and content.

Example: An applicant from Lithuania or Canada can submit an application for a collaborative project if there are also partners from Finland and Åland.

Funding

The programme grants support to projects within all areas of art and culture, in all project phases: preliminary work, production, presentation and dissemination. However, you cannot apply for funding for activities which have already been conducted.

You can apply for support for projects that invest in cultural and artistic productions and creative work as well as to organise and implement projects that develop skills within the field of art and culture. Support can be granted for all types of costs that are directly associated with the project.

For example, the projects may entail:

• creation or dissemination of works, projects and initiatives that require a creative process
• creation of meeting places between artists/cultural bodies and the public
• development and dissemination of knowledge and/or work methods
• organising discussions and debates, as well as seminars and workshops.

You cannot apply for funding for:

• tours with already existing works or productions
• running costs of institutions or other activities
• basic financing of projects which run for several years – such as ongoing costs for an annual festival
• productions of works without the active involvement of partners other than artists themselves, e.g. solo performances or album recordings.
• film and TV productions, productions of computer games nor book publishing.
• projects that are part of an education or training course
• commercial activities that aim to generate a financial profit
• projects outside the artistic or cultural area, for example, sports events.
• projects which have already started before the decision on support by us has been approved and dispatched
• activities that have already been completed. At the earliest, activities that are supported by the programme may begin 10 weeks after the application deadline.

The amount applied for must be realistic in relation to the size of the project. The larger the amount applied for, the larger your own funding contribution must be, e.g. by way of funding from other contributors. Co-funding is seen as an important part of the project’s prerequisites.

A project can be granted

• up to EUR 7,000 without other sources of funding
• up to EUR 40 000 with at least 30% co-funding
• up to EUR 100 000 with at least 50% co-funding

This means that the contribution from the Culture and Art Programme can cover between 50% and 100% of the project’s total costs, depending on the amount applied for.

Co-financing can include “funding in-kind”. Funding in-kind consists of goods or services rather than money. An example of this can be working hours. The way you value working hours must be specified in the budget and the sum must be reasonable in relation to the tasks and their length.

We recommend that all costs within the project are collated in a single application to Nordic Culture Point. For instance, all travel costs can be included in the application to the Culture and Art Programme.