Final network meeting of the Nordic Culture Fund’s Puls initiative

The purpose of the meeting is, among other things, to gather and exchange experiences from the work in Puls and to discuss possible directions for further development of the collaborations in the network and the live music area in the Nordic countries.

“The annual network meetings with concert organisers have been crucial to the Fund’s Puls initiative. Through the Puls meetings, the concert organisers have made new contacts, exchanged experiences and shared knowledge of interesting artists with each other. Relationships between Nordic concert promoters across national borders will continue into the future – even after Puls ends – for the benefit of promoters, artists and audiences across the Nordic region. We look forward to ensuring this ambition, when we gather in Torshavn,” says Søren Merrild Staun, Senior Advisor at the Nordic Culture Fund and Project Manager for Puls.

A long-term initiative to strengthen live music in the Nordic region

Puls has been the Nordic Culture Fund’s support programme and music initiative for the years 2017 to 2022. The initiative was developed in close dialogue with national cultural councils and Nordic live music organisations with the aim of exploring the potential for developing live music at a Nordic level and increasing the inter-Nordic circulation of live music.

During the period, Puls has granted approximately DKK 21 million to venues and festivals across the Nordic region, enabling them to organise concerts with artists from other Nordic countries. The initiative has thus created a network of concert organisers, given Nordic artists a network of Nordic music venues and given audiences the opportunity to experience Nordic artists they might not otherwise experience. Today, the Puls network consists of 53 festivals and venues from all over the Nordic region.

Puls has led to around 1000 concerts across the Nordic region with 750 different Nordic artists.

Focus on rounding off and gathering knowledge in 2023

In the final period of Puls, the Fund will focus on rounding off the initiative and incorporating relevant lessons into the Fund’s future work. At the final network meeting, the organisers will also identify opportunities to further anchor the work of Puls and to ensure the continuation of the many connections and collaborative relationships that Puls has helped to facilitate.

The meeting in the Faroe Islands will also lay the groundwork for the final report, which will be published later this spring. The aim of the report is to shed light on the importance of the Puls programme for the Nordic live music sector and to suggest how the Fund and other actors can best support live music in the Nordic region in the future.

List of Puls promoters:

• 45 Special, Oulu, Finland
• Akusmata Sound Art Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
• ALICE, København, Danmark
• Alter, Aarhus, Danmark
• Arctic Sounds, Sisimiut, Greenland
• Audiorama, Stockholm, Sweden
• Blow Out, Oslo, Norway
• BLÅ, Oslo, Norway
• Debaser, Stockholm, Sweden
• Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium, Aarhus, Denmark
• DP Agency, Kokkola, Finland
• Ekko, Bergen, Norway
• Electric Audio Unit, Oslo, Norway
• EnergiMølla, Kongsberg, Norway
• Fanø Free Folk Festival, Sønderho, Denmark
• Folkelarm, Oslo, Norway
• Gimle, Roskilde, Denmark
• Heaven Up Here, Hägersten, Sweden
• Humlan, Umeå, Sweden
• Huset i Hasserisgade, Aalborg, Denmark
• Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavik, Iceland
• Ilk, København, Denmark
• Indgreb, København, Denmark
• Inkonst, Malmö, Sweden
• Jazz City Turku, Turku, Finland
• Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Kaustinen, Finland
• Kerubi, Joensuu, Finland
• Korjaamo, Helsinki, Finland
• Korrö Folkmusikfestival, Korrö, Sweden
• Kulturhuset Oceanen, Göteborg, Sweden
• Kulturværftet, Helsingør, Denmark
• Listastovan, Miðvágur, Faroe Islands
• Lutakko, Jyväskylä, Finland
• Mandaljazz, Mandal, Norway
• Márkomeannu, Evenskjer, Norway
• Mengi, Reykjavik, Iceland
• Mentanarhúsið, Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands
• Mix Musik, Malmö, Sweden
• Musikforeningen Drauget, Hørve, Denmark
• Norbergfestival, Norberg, Sweden
• Nordens hus i Reykjavík, Reykjavik, Iceland
• Nordens hus på Færøerne, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
• Nordens Institut på Åland, Mariehamn, Åland
• Radar, Aarhus, Denmark
• Salurinn, Kópavogur, Iceland
• Sound of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
• Squeezebox, Frederikshavn, Denmark
• Tavastia Klubi, Helsinki, Finland
• The Tivoli, Helsingborg, Sweden
• VEGA, København, Denmark
• Victoriateatern, Malmö, Sweden
• VoxHall, Aarhus, Denmark
• We Jazz, Helsinki, Finland