NEMO – Northern European Mobility Opportunity

About NEMO

As near neighbours, the Nordic countries, the UK, and Ireland constitute a shared international space with fertile ground for creative collaborations. However, several developments in recent years have contributed to making international artistic collaboration across the region more difficult, including increasing geo-political tensions, growing economic uncertainty and the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

Launched in 2025, the Northern European Mobility Opportunity (NEMO) is a programme for mobility and artistic exchange. It is supported by the Nordic Culture Fund and the arts funding agencies of Ireland, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The programme focuses on individual artists and arts practitioners in the early stages of their careers. It reflects a shared recognition among the partners that this group has a particular need for additional support and opportunities in the current climate.

The aims of NEMO

The programme builds on a reciprocal wish to broaden the creative possibilities for practitioners across the Northern European cultural scene. It does so by providing financial support for artists towards practical collaborative initiatives that will benefit both participating artists and the broader arts communities in partnering countries.

The shared priorities of this programme are to:

• Encourage and support emerging artists and arts practitioners to work confidently with international partners.
• Foster international collaboration.
• Develop and strengthen new artistic networks across the Northern European region.
• Commit to accessibility and inclusion for diverse communities and voices across the region.

Who is NEMO for?

To be eligible to apply for this programme you must be an individual artist or arts practitioner who is resident in:

• One of the Nordic countries
• One of the four nations of the UK
• The Republic of Ireland.
• The focus of the programme is on artists and arts practitioners who are in the emerging part of their artistic careers.

If you are based in the UK or the Republic of Ireland, your application must include details of how you will develop a collaboration with a partner in the Nordic Region. Conversely, if you are based in the Nordic region, your application must include details of how you will develop a collaboration with a partner in the UK or the Republic of Ireland.

All parties involved in the application must have clearly agreed on the scope of the partnership before the application is submitted.

This programme is only open to applicants who did not receive support under NEMO in 2025.

We want to ensure that opportunities are open to all. We particularly welcome applications that reflect the full diversity of identities and communities across all partner countries.

Eligibility criteria

You must meet the criteria below to be eligible to apply.

• You must be an emerging individual artist or arts practitioner resident in:

The Nordic countries: Denmark, The Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, or The Åland Islands

The Republic of Ireland

The UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales

• Your collaborative partner (an artist(s), arts practitioner(s), or an organisation) must be based in the opposing region of where you are based: Artists resident in a Nordic country can only apply to work with a partner based in the UK or the Republic of Ireland, and vice versa.
• You must be applying for a new partnership or collaboration, and you must have approached the person or organisation that you want to work with. You must provide a letter or an email of agreement/support to prove this.
• You must have a background and track record of working as an artist or arts practitioner and can provide a CV which shows this.
• You can only be involved in one application to this fund.
• You must have a bank account in your country of residence.
• You must complete your collaboration within one year of receiving a grant.

Who cannot apply?

We will not be able to accept your applications if you:

• Received support under NEMO in 2025. 
• Are an individual looking to work with a partner who is not based in the Northern European region, and not based in the ‘opposing’ region of where you are based.
• Are an organisation – however organisations may be included in proposed initiatives as a partner. 
• Are an Artist collective involving multiple individual artists or an artist applying on behalf of the collective. 
• Are a student in full-time education (undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD-studies) 
• Are looking for support towards work that you’re doing as part of an internship or volunteer work. 
• Are seeking funds to attend an artistic residency. 
• Are an individual seeking to fund studies or use the fund for payment for professional courses. 
• Are an individual seeking funding for film projects. 
• Are an individual wishing to tour or exhibit existing work abroad.

What you can spend your NEMO grant on

Applications can be for physical, digital or hybrid activity in response to the programme aims.  We expect applications to have a focus on the early stages of a new partnership and collaboration. For example, costs eligible under the call can include, although they are not limited to:

• Artists’ fees (both for yourself and your partners, incl. other participating partners)
• Critical exchange and research
• Mentorships e.g. exchange of working methods, traditions, and processes.
• Capacity building e.g. strengthening of skills, resources, structures
• Creation/design of a small-scale pilot for a future collaboration
• Public engagement, such as participatory events, talks, classes, etc.
• Travel and accommodation costs for partnership development.

We do not require any performative artistic output from your grant. If you want, you can spend some of your budget on research and development in preparation for such activity at a later stage.

We welcome applications for partnership activities which take into consideration the environmental impact of their plans.

What you cannot spend your grant on

You cannot apply for:

• Capital expenditure – such as buying equipment
• Taking part in artistic residencies
• Payment for professional courses
• Activities that start before you receive a grant
• Costs that are already covered by other sources of funding
• Touring your work
• Activities that generate a profit

How much can you apply for?

The maximum amount that we can award to each successful application is DKK 75,000

The total funding available for this round will be approximately DKK 2,500,000 (approximately EUR 345,000, allowing for exchange rates). This means that there will be many good applications that we will be unable to fund.

We expect to make around 33 awards worth up to DKK 75,000 (approx. EUR 10,000) each. Grants will be awarded in Danish Kroner (the operating currency of the Nordic Culture Fund, who will administer the grant).

Before you apply for NEMO

NEMO 2026 Timeline and important dates

June 2026: Publication of NEMO 2026 Guidelines 

25 June 2026: Arts InfoPoint UK Webinar about NEMO 2026 

17 August 2026: NEMO application portal opens 

18 September 2026 (24.00 CET): NEMO application portal closes 

September – October 2026: Assessment period 

November 2026: Decision Panel 

Mid-November 2026: NEMO 2026 Announcements  

Project start date: From end November 2026

Project end date: End November 2027

Application process and mandatory materials

You can submit your application through the Nordic Culture Fund’s application portal. We can only accept applications through the online portal. We cannot accept paper applications.

When the programme opens for applications, an online application form will be available in the online application portal. You must submit it before the deadline, together with:

• your CV
• a letter/email of invitation from your chosen partner.

The application form will ask some short questions about:

• Yourself and your practice, including how you consider yourself to be in the emerging part of your artistic career.
• Why you have chosen your partner and what they will bring to your collaboration.
• What you hope to achieve if you receive a grant.
• What the impact would be on your ongoing practice.
• Potential for future developments and broader regional benefits.

It will also ask you to submit a timeline for key activities and a basic budget breakdown. In your budget you should list any costs that you intend to have for:  

• Fees for artists’ time and that of your partner(s) 
• Travel
• Visas (where appropriate)
• Accommodation 
• Per diems/subsistence 
• Digital collaboration costs
• Studio/venue hire
• Insurance 
• (Marketing)
• Translation / interpretation 

Accessibility and Inclusion – Personal Access Costs

We want to make the process of applying to this programme accessible to everyone who wants to apply.

If you need personal access support to complete an application, we can provide materials in accessible formats such as formatted PDF, plain text or audio. If you require a different format, please get in touch with the Nordic Culture Fund on kulturfonden@norden.org.

We are committed to making our funding schemes and the work we fund accessible to everyone. To meet this goal, we offer financial supports for Personal Access Costs to remove barriers for artists and participants with disabilities.

Decision-making process

1. All applications that the Nordic Culture Fund receive before the deadline will go through an initial eligibility check.
2. If we receive a higher number of applications than anticipated, we reserve the right to introduce an additional sifting stage.
3. Staff from the partner arts agencies and experts from the Nordic Culture Fund use a formal assessment process to select up to 60 applications which are deemed to strongly meet the programme’s criteria.
4. These applications proceed to a decision-making panel consisting of members from all partner organisations.
5. The decision-making panel consider a balanced portfolio of applicants, taking into consideration
   1. The representation of applicants across the full diversity of identities and communities in all partner countries
   2. a balance of art forms and geography.
6. The final funding outcomes will be agreed by representatives of all partnering agencies.
7. Notification of results will be sent out through the Nordic Culture Fund’s application portal.

Assessment Criteria

We assess applications against the following criteria:

CRITERIA 1 – Significance for artists and arts practitioners in the emerging part of their career

• Does the programme respond to your specific current needs or challenges in this part of your career?
• Does the collaboration benefit you as an individual artist and arts practitioner in the initial years of your artistic career, and your need for support and opportunities in the current climate?

CRITERIA 2 – Project structure – clarity of activities, timeline and budget

• Is the amount that you requested and the breakdown of costs reasonable for the activities taking place?
• Does the timeline seem practical?
• Is it clear what is taking place, when and who with? Are the activities described likely to have the effect or outcomes desired?

CRITERIA 3 – The partnership – quality of reciprocal engagement

• Does the application show how this is a new or different approach to international collaboration across the Nordic countries, the UK, and the Republic of Ireland?
• Is there a rationale for the selection of partners (their skills, practice, experience) and will the makeup of the partnership help achieve what the project sets out to do?
• Is the partnership mutual? Will all partners see benefit in the activity?
• Are there interesting possibilities for how the relationships between the partners could develop?

CRITERIA 4 – Potential for future developments and broader regional benefits

• Does the proposal outline the potential impact of the activity for each of the partners? This may include:
  • artistic practice
  • future collaborative opportunities
  • increased international profile
  • reaching new markets and audiences.
• Does the application contribute to broadening the possibilities for practitioners across the Northern European cultural scene?
• Are there plans to share the learning and experiences with the wider creative sector?

Due to the number of applications that we are likely to receive and the limited capacity of our panel, we will be able to offer only limited feedback to unsuccessful applicants.  We are unable to offer tailored feedback on unsuccessful applications to this programme and there will be no appeals process.

What happens next for successful applicants?

If you are successful, the Nordic Culture Fund will contact you to inform you that you are being offered an award. They also send you a grant agreement.

When the project ends, you will be asked to write a report on the outcome of your partnership. You must complete this report in accordance with the Nordic Culture Fund’s guidelines for the final report and accounts.

What if I have a question?

If you have a question, you can consult our Frequently Asked Questions document.

If you need further help, contact the Nordic Culture Fund on kulturfonden@norden.org.

Technical issues

If you experience any technical issues related to registration or application through the NEMO online portal, contact The Nordic Culture Fund on kulturfonden@norden.org.

You can send general questions to the NEMO programme lead in your country of residence:

Arts Council England

Nicola Smyth – Senior Manager International

Nicola.smyth@artscouncil.org.uk

Arts Council Ireland

Davide Terlingo – Head of International Arts

international@artscouncil.ie

Arts Council Northern Ireland

Siobhan Molloy – Arts Development Officer (Venues, Festivals and International)

smolloy@artscouncil-ni.org

Arts Council Wales

Zélie Flach – Senior European Officer

info@wai.org.uk

Creative Scotland

Kate Deans – International Officer

kate.deans@creativescotland.com

Nordic Culture Fund

Henriette Sørensen – Advisor and NEMO-contact

Hensoe@norden.org