Expert groups for the grant programmes that Nordic Culture Point administers gathered for a joint meeting in Suomenlinna in the beginning of September in order to discuss their work. The joint meeting is arranged annually as a forum for the experts to get a chance to meet each other and to get the latest news from Nordic Council Point and Nordic Council of Ministers.
The mandate periods are different for different grant programmes and some experts have been working longer while others have started their first mandate period in 2018. The experts for the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture have been nominated for 2018–2020.
Inga Žolude, an expert for Funding for Artist Residencies which is a part of the Mobility Programme, says that the joint meetings for experts are important for many reasons. Firstly, it is crucial for the experts to meet up within their own group because the work with the grant applications is easier when the group members know each other’s opinions and backgrounds and can build up trust and confidence between the members. Also, the meetings are important from a more personal point of view as many experts work as artists in their own countries and the work can get lonely sometimes – this kind of international meetings and connections can also give inspiration for experts’ own artistic work.
Žolude points out that the grant programmes are especially important from a Baltic point of view as the knowledge of the Baltic countries cannot always be taken granted in the Nordic countries. Žolude says that for example the Mobility Programme also function as a way of increasing and spreading knowledge of the Baltic countries, especially those projects that create connections and personal contacts between the Baltic and the Nordic countries.
“The Nordic grant programmes work well compared to many international funding programmes as there is traditionally less bureaucracy in the Nordic countries and that makes the programmes easily accessible to many applicants”, Inga Žolude argues.
All expert groups consist of professionals within the field of arts and culture and they take independent decisions on awarding grants. Nordic Culture Point administers four grant programmes which are divided into six different funding options. The programmes provide the opportunity to create culture, conduct projects and create meetings between artists and cultural workers in the Nordic region and Baltic states.