Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme in the field of Culture supports long- and short-term network building, artists’ residencies, and mobility of professional art and culture practitioners in all artistic fields. The main goal is to create a platform for an innovative, dynamic Nordic-Baltic art and culture life. The program is c0-financed by the Nordic and Baltic countries and administered by the Nordic Culture Point in Finland. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia for participation in the program in 2023 will contribute 33600 euros. The benefits of Latvia in participating in this program are significant: over the past decade, it has promoted mobility for artists, cultural workers, and educators, as well as promoting regional cooperation between NGOs and creating new valuable contacts. The support provided by the program is very important and highly appreciated both by individual Latvian cultural workers and cultural institutions, helping professional cultural practitioners to create contacts with their Nordic counterparts, develop partnerships, share experiences, and implement various cultural projects.
The application rounds of the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Program “Culture” in 2022 have been completed and artists and other professionals in the arts and culture field and cultural organizations in Latvia have received funding in the amount of 260,609 euros, which has significantly increased compared to the support received in 2021, which was 256,300 euros. Together with the Nordic Culture and Art Program and mentor scholarship in 2022, Latvia has totally received 275,063 euros of support in cultural cooperation projects.
In the program of short-term cooperation networks, 4 applicants received support: the Latvian Performance Art Center, the unaccustomed music and film art association "Skaņu mežs", the Ģertrudes Street Theater Association "Tarba" and the foundation "Fonds Initium", and the total amount of support is 79,321 euros.
For short-term cooperation networks, 4 applicants received support in 2022: the Latvian Centre for Performance Art, the association "Skaņu mežs", the association "Tarba" and the foundation "Fonds Initium". The total amount of support is 79,321 euros.
Two applications have been supported in the long-term cooperation network program: Artillery 35 and Riga Circus, receiving a total of 77,555 euros in grants. It should be noted that Latvian organizations are also involved in projects applied for and supported by other countries.
Ventspils International Writers and Translators house residency received a grant of 19,000 euros and the New Media Culture Center RIXC received 49,998 euros.
The Mobility funding provides individual applicants access to contacts, skills, and knowledge from different parts of the region. 23 mobility scholarships for creative trips were awarded for a total of 34,735 euros and these scholarships were awarded to: artists Aksels Bruks, Elīna Vītola, Evita Goze, Margrieta Griestiņa, Sabīne Werner, Anna Ceipe, textile artist Vineta Gailīte, multimedia artist Līga Spunde, landscape architects Pēteris Vorza, Lilita Sproģe, Indra Purs, Agnese Ločmele, Laura Hrisanfova and Madara Markova, composer Agita Reķe, choreographers Baiba Ozoliņa, Alice Madara Bokalderes, Olga Žitluhina, Ramona Galkina, and Vilnis Bīriņš, semiotics researcher Daina Teters and director Mstislav Pentkovskis received the scholarship twice.
The writer Inga Žolude received a mentoring scholarship in the amount of 2,166 euros, while Artillery 35 received 28,800 euros as part of the Culture and Art Program for the project "Nine Worlds", which involves partners from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
The Nordic and Baltic mobility program "Culture" has announced the application deadlines for next year. It will be possible to apply for mobility funding three times in 2023 - from January 3 to January 31, from February 27 to March 27, and from August 28 to September 28. There will be one call for the artist residency grant - from January 9 to February 9. It will be possible to apply for short-term cooperation networks twice - from January 23 to February 23 and from August 21 to September 21, but for the long-term cooperation networks only once in 2023 - from January 23 to February 21.
Applications for the Nordic Culture and Art Program can be submitted from February 7 to March 7 and from August 12 to September 12.
All programs are administered by the Nordic Culture Point in Finland, which accepts electronic applications in English through the Nordic Culture Point website www.nordiskkulturkontakt.org/en/
In case of questions, applicants from Latvia are invited to contact Ieva Hermansone, Culture Advisor of the Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Latvia, by writing to ieva@norden.lv or by calling +371 28682639.
