60 years of cross-border cultural collaboration – for the future of the Nordics

Our Principles

Nordic Culture Fund works on the basis of six overarching principles. Together, they form the foundation for the Fund’s priorities across our overall portfolio and serve as a link between the Fund’s strategy and its active instruments. The six principles are:

We activate culture as a force for change in society

We view culture from a broad perspective and see art and culture as drivers of societal development and democratic dialogue. Therefore, we build bridges between the cultural sector and other fields of knowledge and society, and we help anchor art, culture, and cultural policy as an essential part of public discourse.

We combine Nordic relevance with a global outlook

We promote renewing and exploratory perspectives on the Nordic region and understand Nordic relevance as something that is continuously negotiated and developed through dialogue and exchange with the world. Our work is grounded in an ongoing exploration of what the Nordic region is – and what it can become – in a changing world.

We amplify more voices and embed diversity from the start

As a Nordic fund, we have a particular responsibility to promote diversity in all its forms. We place emphasis on Indigenous perspectives and voices that have historically been underrepresented or marginalised. We include new expressions that enrich Nordic cultural life. For us, diversity, equality, and inclusion are prerequisites for a shared future and for a vibrant and dynamic Nordic cultural sphere.

We take risks and experiment

We demonstrate a willingness to take risks and engage where our involvement can be decisive for something new to emerge and grow. We do not finance long-term operations, but we support collaborations that can make new formats possible and, in the long term, strengthen the overall ecosystem. We intentionally create space for experiments and exploratory forms of collaboration and models to support an arts and cultural sector in constant motion.

We create coherence and learn across boundaries

We work holistically and create coherence across our initiatives. We do this both to embrace the breadth of the Nordic arts and cultural landscape and to go in depth where needed. We systematically integrate learning and actively translate experience into new insights, initiatives, and partnerships.

We ensure transparency and simplicity in processes

We continuously develop the interplay between the Fund’s governance, regulations, and administrative processes so that our work is transparent, contemporary, and efficient. We work purposefully to ensure that our application processes are simple, accessible, and easy to understand and navigate.

Our instruments

The Fund works with a broad portfolio of instruments that, in combination, support the fulfilment of the Fund’s strategic directions. The instruments are interdependent and reflect the Fund’s holistic and proactive approach to the development of the artistic and cultural field in the Nordic region: 

Partnerships – a pathway to new knowledge and long-term development

We proactively enter into strategic partnerships with other organisations and stakeholders around targeted initiatives that support the Fund’s strategic priorities. Partnerships are a key driver of exchange between practice, knowledge and policy development. Through collaboration, we create space for initiatives that can contribute to structural change and the long-term development in the field of arts and culture. 

Networks and meeting places

We actively work as a facilitator and strategic link between the many actors within the artistic and cultural field. This ensures that the Fund’s work is firmly rooted in the Nordic arts and cultural landscape – and creates spaces for experimentation, shared learning and long-term development. The Fund also participates in a wide range of Nordic and international networks and forums. This provides a strong foundation for new strategic collaborations and for mobilising knowledge, perspectives and relationships across borders. 

Knowledge and cultural policy development

By virtue of the Fund’s position within the cultural policy landscape, we have a responsibility to actively contribute to the development of the role of art and culture and their structural conditions in society. Through close dialogue with the practicing arts and cultural field, knowledge environments and political actors in the Nordic region and internationally, we contribute to collecting, producing and disseminating knowledge about the field’s dynamics, needs and challenges – with the aim of strengthening both practice and cultural policy development. 

Strategic and risk-willing support

We work with a differentiated funding framework that includes both our broad programmes, Opstart and Project Funding, as well as more specific forms of support linked to our thematic initiatives, development efforts and partnerships. Our support is based on trust and a willingness to take risks, and actively contribute to the development and establishment of new initiatives and collaborations. At the same time, we work proactively to identify emerging trends and develop formats that respond to current needs. The aim is to create coherence across initiatives and ensure that knowledge and experience are continuously used to further develop both existing and new programmes. 

Proactive communication across initiatives

Communication is a central element of the Foundation’s strategic work. We are in ongoing dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders – from applicants to international partners – and participate actively in arenas for cultural policy dialogue and knowledge exchange in the Nordic region. Through our communication, we strive for clear and consistent articulation of our strategy, as well as strong positioning and visibility of the Funds’s work.