Mobility funding is provided for travel and accommodation costs in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The aim of the funding scheme is to provide individuals with access to contacts and collaboration with other professionals within the Nordic-Baltic region. In 2023, 1653 applications were submitted for the module and a total of 385 applications were granted funding. The approval rate for the entire year was 23 % but there was some variation between the three annual rounds.  

The total applied amount was EUR 2 644 500 of which EUR 583 445 was granted (approval rate 22 %). The increased budget for Mobility funding module in 2023 is due to a transfer of undistributed funds from the Network funding module. A decision by Nordic senior officers in May 2023 allowed a total of 151 000 euro to be transferred to the module and distributed in travel grants. The surplus for Network funding had been cumulated over several years and is partly explained by cancellations of project activities due to covid-19 pandemic in 2020-2022.

In terms of different fields of art and culture, 111 granted mobility applications were classified as multidisciplinary combining several art fields and making up 28 % of the total.

Several individual artists got Mobility funding for
performing the interactive dance performance
Untz baby untz in the Faroe Islands. Credit: AdeY

Visual arts was the most popular single field with 78 granted applicants, 20 % of the total, and music was second with 64 granted applicants, 17 % of the total. Dance and theatre had respectively 58 and 30 granted applicants.

The gender outcome among granted applicants shows that 63 % of the granted applicants in 2023 were women. Men make up 31 % of the granted applicants, an increase of 4 % compared to last year, while 6 % state unspecified gender.

The geographical distribution in 2023 shows that Finland had the biggest share of travel departures with 24 % of the total. Sweden is second with 18 %, and Denmark third with 14 %, followed by Norway (11 %), Latvia (10 %) and Estonia (9 %). Finland was also the most popular destination among granted funding, 16 % of the total. Norway was the second most popular destination (14 %), Sweden the third (12%), followed by Estonia (10 %) and Denmark (9 %).

The maximum days for funding was increased from 10 to 14 days in the beginning of the current program period in 2021. Of the 385 granted applications in 2023, 90 were granted the maximum 14 or days which makes up 23 % of the total. 68 % of the granted travel was planned to last 7-14 days. Only 2 % of the granted applicants applied for a short journey of two days. Median of travel days was 8 and average of travel days 8,7. The maximum number of days to apply for was increased in order support the Nordic ambition to become the most sustainable region of the world by allowing applicants to travel more sustainably.

Also, the possibility to apply for multiple destinations was a new feature for this programme period to contribute towards more sustainable travel habits. The possibility to apply for several destinations with the same application makes it easier to combine several travel purposes and avoid making several short trips. In total, 27 applications were granted multiple destinations which makes up 7 % of the total of 385 granted applications in 2023, an increase of 1 % compared to 2022.

Group applications were no longer possible starting from 2021. Applicants apply as individuals, but they can state in their application if they are traveling as a group and group members are assessed together. Of the 385 granted applications in 2023, 259 stated they were part of a group (67 %) which is approximately on the same level as the year before with 209 of 297 granted applications (70 %) stating to be a group. The change has made it easier for groups to apply for same destination together even though the group members might have different points of departure.

As for the horizontal perspectives of the Nordic collaboration, 86 % of the granted applications stated that their activities contribute to goals for sustainable development and 73 % of the granted applications stated that their activities contribute to gender equality goals.

The Expert group met in Helsinki in March for the first application round and participated also in the closing workshop for mentorship pilot programme. The other two decision meetings were held online.

The number of the applications for the Mobility funding module is all-time high in 2023. In the previous programme period it was still possible to apply as a group but from 2021 onwards also those travelling as a group need to submit individual applications. This has increased the total number of applications compared with previous programme periods. In 2021 and partly still in 2022 the covid-19 pandemic affected the possibilities to travel and in 2021 there were still travel restrictions that postponed the travel to 2022. Therefore, year 2023 is the first year in the current programme period with normal travelling activity. It can be expected that the number of applications for Mobility funding will be at this high level also in the future.

Of the total 385 grant receivers in 2023, 200 granted applicants (52 %) completed their travel in 2023. Of the 200 final reports that have been received from this year’s rounds 150 (75 %) state the travel been undertaken as it was described in the application. Of the same 200 final reports 82 % state that they have plans for possible future collaborations as a result for the Mobility funding grant. 87 % state that travel has contributed to development and innovation within their area of activity. 86 % state that the travel has resulted in collaborations with new partners at Nordic, Baltic, Nordic-Baltic or at international level.

The performance group consisting of Teo Ala-Ruona, Teo Paaer, Michail Skalskis and Heikki Paasonen received Mobility funding in 2023. The group travelled from Finland to Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art to perform their piece Enter Exude after a successful premier at Kiasma in Helsinki. The performance in Vilnius led into new contacts to curators in New York, Zurich and Estonia. As a result, the piece was performed in New York in the autumn 2023 with a great success. Enter Exude is a performance for three people and a Chevrolet Camaro car, and it deals with the symbiotic relationship of humans, pollution, and cars through the means of somatic fiction. The performance reflects explicitly on ecological sustainability issues as well as trans-gender issues. Teo Ala-Ruona says:

“For sustainable development of performing arts, it is important that works are presented more than just once. Extending the lifespan of the piece is crucial to better utilize the resources invested in creating them. Additionally, the themes of Enter Exude also address ecological thinking in relation to the human body and car culture. The performance, therefore, also contributes to the discussion on the ecological crisis and how it is being talked about in popular culture.” 

Enter Exude plays with a complex speculation: if environmental toxins increase the birth of transgender individuals in the world, can we think of the car as our techno-toxicological parent?
Credit: Pirjo Mykkänen

Child rights and youth perspective is of one of three horizontal perspectives that are to be mainstreamed in the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture does not have a specific focus on reaching out to young audiences but there are still a good number of projects that explicitly include activities for young target groups.

Five dance artists from Denmark and Sweden, a group called MYKA, received Mobility funding to travel to the Faroe Islands to perform their piece Untz baby untz which was considered by the Expert group as one of the highlights of the year 2023. Their performance at Nordic House in Tórshavn was a great success and the piece is invited to Dansens hus in Oslo, Norway in 2024 – this time with a slightly different composition of performers.  

Sofia Wickman, creative producer of the performance, says:

Within the programme period 2021–2023 there was a possibility to arrange an annual profiled application round within the Mobility funding module. The participating countries approved in 2021 a pilot project in mentoring to be arranged within the programme. The mentorship pilot was implemented in 2022–2023 as a contribution to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Vision 2030 supporting the goals of two priority areas specifically: a competitive Nordic region and a socially sustainable Nordic region.

The mentorship pilot programme was aimed at newly established professionals up to 30 years old as mentees. The aim was to promote long-term relationships within cultural mobility and to help young professionals to gain access to the field and build networks. The mentoring process was an interactive relationship beneficial to both the mentee and the mentor through mutual learning. The mentoring process itself was left open and the participants could form their own collaboration and the contents/focus of their mentoring relationship as they wanted.

The program started in October 2022 with all ten pairs present in Helsinki. After the initial meeting the participants worked in pairs for a six-month period sharing experiences. The programme was carried out through individual meetings between the pairs and three joint sessions for the entire group. A closing session was arranged in March 2023.

Overall evaluation by the participants was unanimously positive. As many as 20 of 20 stated the programme met their expectations and 17 of 20 participants stated they see new collaborations developing as a result. 

Here are some quotes from the participants:

During the programme, mentors offered guidance and practical advice on how mentees could navigate in their professional environments and helped to identify opportunities for personal growth, enhancing personal development and creating new opportunities for networking.  In their evaluation the mentees and mentors describe that the overall focus of their mentoring relationship was career planning and progression, research and outputs, networking and building relationships, navigating in their current careers and self-presentation, managing work-life balance and development.

One participant commented:

An example of a successful mentor-mentee pairing was between Rebekka Bohse Meyer, a young performance designer from Denmark, and Jenni Koski, an experienced producer and filmmaker from Finland. Rebekka reported as the most valuable outcome of the relationship: “Meeting my mentor – starting a friendship and a mentorship that we try to continue by applying for ongoing funding. Broadening network to the Nordic countries and especially Finland.” Jenni stressed the importance of building trust in her evaluation: “Trust and friendship. Understanding of the scope of art and art practitioners in current times.”