Currently 7 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies taking place in Norway, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Many are open to applicants of any nationality; check each entry for residency and citizenship requirements. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The European AI & Society Fund is launching Building Narrative Power, a EUR 2 million funding and learning programme to counter Big Tech's dominance over how AI is understood, and to help people and communities shape new ways of thinking and talking about the technology they want. The Fund's strategy is to build the power of the public interest community to shape the direction of AI in Europe; narratives are central to creating the conditions for a greater say over how AI is adopted and used. THREE THEMES where research shows the public already feels strongly: (1) DATA CENTRES: as the EU aims to triple data centre numbers in the next five to seven years, pollution, energy prices and compromised grid access have mobilised communities across the political spectrum; proposals should explore narrative questions that move communities beyond resistance towards engagement in shaping data centre expansion. (2) AI AND JOBS: 57% of the public in a recent study expressed concern about how AI will change employment, more pronounced among lower-income people, and the concern is not only displacement but the quality and nature of work, autonomy and dignity; proposals should move the debate from generalised anxiety into a mobilising issue that shapes the future of work. (3) YOUNG PEOPLE: beyond the strident social media ban debate, young people encounter AI in education, friendships and future careers, and their wider views are rarely heard; proposals should build narratives that help young people shape the technologies that will influence their lives. LEARNING PROGRAMME: grantees join a community of practice, sharing experiences across issues and places, supporting each other through delivery and reflecting on which strategies and stories have most salience, with findings feeding back to the Fund and other funders. ABOUT THE FUNDER: the European AI & Society Fund is a pooled fund with 18 funding partners that mobilises a public interest community in Europe to fight for AI that serves people, society and planet; it takes no EU, government or Big Tech money. ELIGIBILITY: this call is only open to organisations in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland; applications from the UK, the Western Balkans and other non-European countries are not accepted. Guidance for applicants and a full application-form preview are published so you can prepare a draft before submitting. HOW TO APPLY: create an account on the Fund's application platform Optimy (link in the guidance documents) and submit the first-stage application before 31 August 2026. KEY DATES: call launched 16 July 2026; information sessions 22 July, 29 July and 24 August 2026 (11:00 to 12:00 CET); first-stage deadline 31 August 2026; unsuccessful applicants notified 16 October 2026; shortlisted applicants invited to submit a detailed proposal on 19 October 2026, due 16 November 2026; funding decisions notified 14 December 2026; grants start February 2027. Questions to info@europeanaifund.org; an FAQ covering eligibility, coalitions, non-profit status and what the grant can be spent on is published at the bottom of the programme page.
DRIFT (Dance and Research In The Future Time) is a four-year Creative Europe cooperation between ten European organisations, led by Theatre de Liege and Maison de la danse. The distinguishing feature is that it funds artistic research rather than production: you are expected to arrive with questions, not a finished piece you already intend to make, and reviewers read every section of the application through that lens. STRUCTURE: each of the ten partner organisations selects one choreographer from its own country, forming a cohort of ten. Over the programme you get an Onboarding Lab, two weeks of residency with your national partner, three collaborative Online Labs, a Festival Lab in Tunis, individual artistic and curatorial mentoring, and a work-in-progress showcase at the Biennale de la danse in Lyon, all backed by a EUR 20,000 research budget that covers your fees, travel, accommodation and any collaborators. SECOND PHASE: after a further evaluation, five of the ten artists may receive co-production support and touring across the DRIFT network. That phase is separate from this application and is not guaranteed. ELIGIBILITY: professional choreographers in contemporary dance or performance, at a mid-career stage, meaning an established national practice but not yet fully established internationally. You must be based in Belgium, France, Germany (Berlin region only), Greece, Norway, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia or Portugal, and you apply through the partner organisation representing your country of residence, not centrally. Good English and availability for all programme dates are required. The country list is strict, so check it before you start. TIMELINE: applications opened 1 July 2026 and close 31 August 2026; selection through September; results 9 October 2026; programme runs November 2026 to September 2027.
ITER is now in its fifth year and supports people in the performing arts to build environmentally responsible, inclusive and equitable ways of touring and collaborating internationally. It is initiated and financed by Arts Council England, Arts Council Norway, Creative Scotland and the Danish Arts Foundation, and designed and delivered by Julie's Bicycle and in futurum. Creative Scotland joined as a partner for 2026. TWO TRACKS, up to 60 places in total: PATHFINDERS, ten sessions introducing the principles of sustainable touring for people new to the subject; and CHANGEMAKERS, nine sessions for those further along, on leadership and systemic change. Seminars run weekly from 1 October to 10 December 2026, Pathfinders on Tuesdays and Changemakers on Thursdays, 10:00 to 12:00 UK time, alongside networking and a new alumni network. THE MONEY COMES IN PHASE TWO: after the seminars, groups of three or more participants can apply for up to GBP 30,000 to implement collaborative projects that cut environmental impacts and advance climate justice. Funding applications open 6 November 2026 and close 11 January 2027; awarded projects begin in spring 2027. ELIGIBILITY: based in England, Scotland, Norway or Denmark, working in dance, music or theatre. That covers music and theatre venues receiving touring work, festivals, orchestras, theatre companies, solo artists, performers and musicians, performing arts producers, and multidisciplinary arts organisations. Applications are made through the relevant national funder (Arts Council England open funds, Creative Scotland targeted funding, Arts Council Norway, Danish Arts Foundation). Questions go to environmentaltouring@artscouncil.org.uk.
Supports organisations building new cross-border professional networks, funding joint meetings, workshops, staff exchanges and collaborative platforms among artists and cultural practitioners. It is designed for the convening and infrastructure-building side of festival work rather than artistic production, and it explicitly excludes artistic productions and public events, so it is used to assemble festival partners rather than to stage the festival itself. Grants run up to EUR 20,000 for networks of a year or less, with Nordic Culture Point covering at most 70 percent of the budget and a hard 85 percent ceiling on combined pan-Nordic public funding. The autumn 2026 window is 10 August to 4 September 2026, closing 15:59 UTC+3. TIMING RULE: activity may not begin until at least eight weeks after the deadline. IMPORTANT ELIGIBILITY DIFFERENCE from the Culture and Art Programme: the applicant must be resident in a Nordic or Baltic country and must be a professional with documented training or experience in art and culture, so non-Nordic and non-Baltic lead applicants are not eligible. A strong fit for a media-arts or sound-art organisation assembling a regional partner consortium ahead of a larger application.
Nordic Culture Point's main project line, funding Nordic collaborative arts and culture projects across all phases: preliminary work, production, presentation and dissemination. Eligible activity explicitly includes creative productions, workshops, knowledge development and spaces for artists to meet publics, which covers festivals, public programmes and convenings when framed as new collaborations. The tiered co-financing model is the standout feature: EUR 7,000 with no match at all, rising to EUR 100,000 at a 50 percent match, and in-kind contributions count. NOTABLE: applicants do not need Nordic residency or citizenship provided the three-country and two-Nordic partner structure is met, so a non-Nordic organisation can lead the project. The autumn window runs 10 August to 10 September 2026, closing 15:59 UTC+3. TIMING RULE: decisions arrive ten weeks after the deadline and no project may start before notification, so budget for a roughly three-month lag. The programme will not finance existing tours, institutional running costs, ongoing festival core financing, solo performances, film, TV or gaming production, or book publishing, so a recurring festival must present a distinct new collaborative strand rather than seek operating support.
Kulturdirektoratet's main scheme for multi-artistic and cross-disciplinary events, organisers and venues, and the natural Norwegian route for a festival or biennial that does not sit inside a single artform committee. It funds single events, event series, festivals and seminars with cross-disciplinary relevance, plus year-round operation of organisations with a multi-artistic profile, which covers media arts, digital culture and experimental sound programming presented alongside other forms. Art production itself, closed workshops, infrastructure investment and activity already completed before the deadline are not funded. Two application rounds run in 2026: 8 April 2026 (project grants, closed) and 15 September 2026 at 13:00 (project grants plus activity grants for the 2027 operating year). Project grants accept individuals, private and public institutions, and organisations, while activity grants require an organisation number or a named, separately budgeted activity within a larger entity, existing for at least one year and not already receiving permanent annual state funding. The scheme never fully finances a project, so a credible co-financing plan is expected. FLAG: decision dates and foreign-applicant eligibility are not published on the scheme page; award notifications arrive via the application portal.
This scheme gives operating and programme support to visual art organisers in Norway, covering exhibition and event programming, content production, salaries, artist fees, venue costs including rent, utilities and internet, and administrative expenses. Because it funds the organiser rather than a single artwork, it is the relevant route for an artist-run space, biennial organisation or media-arts venue running a recurring public programme. Applicants must demonstrate artistic and cultural expertise, innovation and distinctiveness. Eligibility is limited to bodies with their own registration number, or a separately named and budgeted activity within a larger organisation, existing for at least one year prior to application, and organisations already receiving permanent annual state funding are excluded. The 2026 application deadline is 15 September 2026 at 13:00. Kulturdirektoratet explicitly warns that applicants often receive less than requested or are rejected despite quality proposals, so co-financing is necessary. FLAG: amounts, decision lag and foreign-applicant eligibility are not published on the funder's page; results arrive through the application portal with an acceptance deadline in the decision letter.