Nordic Currents is a new international culture initiative from the Nordic Council of Ministers, running 2027–28, looking for projects that showcase the diversity, quality and contemporary relevance of Nordic arts and culture in neighbouring European countries.
The call is open 1 October to 1 November 2026 — four weeks from now.
The money
€100,000 to €800,000 per project.
That is a large range by the standards of open calls we cover, and the top of it is institutional-scale funding. Co-financing from local, national or other sources is a prerequisite — so this is not a sole funder, it is a contribution to a budget you are already assembling.
Selected projects announced May 2027. Projects must take place between 1 June 2027 and 1 June 2028.
The eligibility, which is where most readers will stop
Organisations apply, not individual artists. Eligible applicants are established organisations from European countries neighbouring the Nordic region — primarily Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom — including cultural organisations, institutions, promoters, festivals and producers, as well as embassies and diplomatic missions working with arts and culture stakeholders.
And two requirements that shape the whole thing:
At least two partners from different Nordic countries, active throughout the project.
Programming must include representation from all the Nordic countries — artists and cultural actors from Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Åland.
That second one is unusually demanding and it is the key to understanding the programme. Eight territories, including three — the Faroes, Greenland and Åland — with small populations and comparatively small arts sectors. You cannot assemble this programme casually. It requires either existing Nordic networks or a serious research period.
What this is actually for
It is cultural diplomacy, stated plainly, and the structure follows from that.
The Nordic Council is funding its own region’s visibility abroad, so the applicant is a European host and the beneficiaries are Nordic artists. The all-eight-territories requirement exists because a programme that showcased only Danish and Swedish work would defeat the purpose — Greenland and the Faroes are precisely the parts of the region least seen in European programming.
Which means the programme is pursuing something genuinely worthwhile and is not primarily an artist-support scheme.
This is the second large European call in a week with the same shape. EFFEA Call #5, which we covered on 3 October and which closes 3 November, also requires festivals to apply on artists’ behalf, with three festivals in three countries. The pattern is consistent across European cultural funding and it is worth internalising: Creative Europe-adjacent money funds cross-border cooperation between organisations, with artists as beneficiaries rather than applicants.
What to do about it
If you run an organisation in one of those ten countries and you have Nordic programming ambitions, this is four weeks and a large sum. The limiting factor will be partners, not ideas.
If you are a Nordic artist, the action is not an application — it is making sure the right people know you exist in the next three weeks. Lead organisations assembling a bid need artists from eight territories and will be actively looking. A short, specific email to a festival or institution you have a plausible connection to, saying I am Faroese/Greenlandic/Åland-based and I work in this field, here is my work, is unusually likely to land right now.
If you are neither, there is a less obvious use for this: the published list of funded projects in May 2027 will be a map of which European institutions have active Nordic partnerships and budget. That is a useful document for anyone planning a tour or a residency application in 2028.
Where it sits
Currently open and verified in our tracking:
| Call | Deadline | Who applies |
|---|---|---|
| AFTER THE PALACE: Resonance video mapping, Kraków | 30 Oct | You — free to enter |
| Nordic Currents 2027–28 | 1 Nov | Organisations |
| EFFEA Call #5 | 3 Nov | Festivals |
| EMAP 2027 residencies | 6 Nov | You — artists, duos, collectives |
Two of those four you can apply to directly. Next conference preview due: Adobe MAX, 10–12 November 2026.