The purpose of the support scheme is to give Norwegian and Norway-based craft artists, duojárat, curators, mediators and researchers the opportunity to investigate and acquire specific knowledge and skills from production sites across the Nordic region through a stay or a residency. This can be in Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Sweden and Åland. The support scheme is part of the initiative Nordic Exchange: Production, Knowledge and Skills, and includes this open call for 2024.

Apply via STIKK.no

TARGET GROUP – WHO CAN APPLY?
The recipients of the residency support scheme should be Norwegian or Norway-based active professionals within craft: artists, duojárat, curators, mediators, researchers and others who are interested in working with and acquiring specialised knowledge and skills from production sites across the Nordic region through a stay or residency. See the Danish Arts Foundation’s open call for Danish artists and designers here.

FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK
The support scheme’s framework is NOK 600,000 distributed for two application rounds in 2024. Of this, NOK 200,000 is financed through support from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality's work on cultural collaboration in the Nordic region and is earmarked for practitioners working with duodji or käsityö.

Guidelines

In this context, the term 'production site' covers everything from large, specialised factories to smaller workshops with individuals or groups that have expertise in a specific area. This can be a specific craft, material knowledge, production method, technique, or the like.

Norwegian and Norway-based applicants cannot apply for a stay in Norway or the Norwegian side of Sápmi.

There is no restriction for the length of the stay, but it must be completed in 2024.

The application deadline for round 1 in 2024 is 26 February.

EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF STAYS OR RESIDENCIES:

• An emerging textile artist wants to learn a weaving technique from a more established artist who possesses professional expertise and experience in the specific technique.
• An existing residency program that gives access to a production site with specific knowledge of production techniques that the applicant will use for further artistic development, research, dissemination, etc.
• A ceramic artist wants to spend time at a production site that can offer insight and education in specific production methods relevant to the artist's project (e.g. an exhibition). In such cases, the artist may have been granted a spot in a residency but lacks funding for fees for teaching and transport of finished works.
• A curator or researcher wants to delve into the archives of a production site to develop an exhibition or dissemination material on a specific theme from the research.
• A curator or writer wants to gather in-depth knowledge about a specific production method or technique through a stay with an artist collective with specialist expertise, to develop an exhibition, publication, or other dissemination material.

The support scheme is part of a collaboration between Norwegian Crafts, the Danish Arts Foundation and Nordic Culture Fund on a joint development initiative to strengthen the Nordic craft and design field.

By applying, you accept that the information in the application form can be used for mapping and analysis in connection with the Nordic Exchange Programme: Production, Knowledge and Skills. If you receive a grant, you commit to take part in a survey about the stay for which you have received support. You may also be contacted for qualitative interviews. The latter cases will be planned and remunerated separately.

How much and what can be applied for?

You can apply for the following fixed grants that can be used to cover fees associated with travel, accommodation, materials, and shipping of artworks. The scale of the grant should be based upon the needs of the stay/project, which must be explained in the application.

A: NOK 40,000
B: NOK 70,000
C: NOK 100,000

In addition to this, you can apply for funds to pay the production site for specific expenses, such as administration costs and working time, fees for training/assistance, renting a workshop or other production venues and facilities that would otherwise be rented out to paying users.

D: NOK 20,000
E: NOK 40,000

To apply, there is a minimum requirement to have established contact with a production site in the Nordic region at which you plan to do the stay or residency. This can be in Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Åland. You can also apply for a grant to an existing residency programme if it is connected to a production site.

YOU CANNOT APPLY FOR A GRANT FOR:

• Activities completed before the application deadline.
• A residency/stay in Norway or the Norwegian side of Sápmi.
• Projects that have already received support from Norwegian Crafts.
• Residency without a focus on gaining increased knowledge or skills within a specific subject area. For example, support will not be granted to residencies that facilitate for only theoretical research or techniques and knowledge that the applicant already masters.

How the application is evaluated

The applications are assessed by a committee appointed by Norwegian Crafts for a period of two years at a time. Decisions and allocations are made through voting. The committee consists of three members, who possess competence as practicing artists or other type of professionals in the field of contemporary crafts and/or duodji.

The overall criteria for being granted support is the project's artistic quality and how the stay will be part of and strengthen the applicant's artistic practice, as well as the passing on of specific knowledge or skills. Furthermore, the committee's assessment will focus on:

• To what extent the stay will give the applicant increased knowledge and/or new skills in a specific production method/technique, material processing or the like.
• Whether the stay will contribute to the continuation of professional knowledge and/or skills that are at risk of being lost or where production is increasingly being moved out of the Nordic region, which may thus have added value for the craft field.
• For curators/researchers/writers: To what extent the stay contributes to new insight or the passing on of knowledge about production methods/techniques or the like, especially where the knowledge is at risk of being lost or increasingly being moved out of the Nordic region.

The committee wants to know what it means for you to have access to a production site or a residency in the Nordic region, and what knowledge, skills and opportunities for development and collaboration this would entail.

IN THE APPLICATION YOU SHOULD THEREFORE EXPLAIN:

• Where in the Nordic region are you going and why have you chosen this production site?
• What is your main expertise/specialisation and what sort of knowledge or skills does the production site possess that make it interesting for you?
• What do you want to attain from your stay – and how do you want to achieve this? How can the stay contribute to developing your artistic practice?
• Describe the production site based on your knowledge and expectations. If you believe that this is a stay with a more equal (two-way) exchange of knowledge and skills, please describe.
• Does the stay provide access to a new professional network?
• An explanation for the chosen application sum.

How to apply

The application is submitted via the application portal STIKK.no. The application deadline is 26 February 2024.

THE APPLICATION MUST CONTAIN:

• Project description (see points above)
• Confirmation/invitation from the production site
• CV
• Documentation of previous works
• Need for application sum

BE AWARE OF:

• You cannot save the application form during the process, so if an error occurs with the browser during the process, you may lose data. We therefore encourage you to draft the application elsewhere before filling in the form.
• Uploaded attachments cannot exceed the size of 10 MB per attachments.
• Attached material is only accepted in the following formats: PDF, Word, MP3 and MP4. ZIP files are not accepted.
• Your application must contain all mandatory attachments in order to be assessed by the committee. Material beyond what is described in the application criteria will not be included in the assessment of your application.
• You are responsible for ensuring that the application form is filled in correctly and that all mandatory attachments are uploaded.
• Attachments received after the application deadline will not be considered.

For questions regarding the open call and your application, contact caseworker Leah Svalastoga Kahn: lk@norwegiancrafts.no.

Application results

When you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation that it has been registered in the STIKK portal with a reference number. Use the reference number if you need to contact Norwegian Crafts in connection with your application and/or stay.

After the application deadline, all submitted applications will be processed and then sent to the committee, who will assess them and decided allocations.

When all applications in the application round have been processed, applicants will receive a notification and the grant recipients will be published on Norwegian Crafts' webpage. You will get the answer on your application no later than 6 weeks after the application deadline. You will receive an email informing you of the result to your application and information about the grants will also be available in the application system.

REQUEST AND DISEMURSEMENT
The grant is earmarked for the specific stay that has been granted funding and cannot be transferred to other projects.

Applicants must submit a request form via the STIKK portal to receive the grant. If the grant is not requested by the applicant within four weeks after the end of the project according to the application, the granted support is transferred back to the support scheme and the grant expires. If the grant is disbursed and the exhibition/project does not take place after all, the applicant is obligated to notify Norwegian Crafts immediately and return the grant in full.

The grant recipient is obliged to use the funding for the purpose that has been applied for. If there are made significant changes to the project, which lead to deviations from the project description in the application, you must notify Norwegian Crafts. This can be done to the support scheme’s caseworker Leah Svalastoga Kahn via e-mail: lk@norwegiancrafts.no

Disbursement of grants to individuals is reportable in accordance with the Norwegian equalisation act. According to the rules for financial management in the government, it is reserved for the national audit office (Riksrevisjonen) to check that the grant is used according to the application.

EVALUATION
If you receive a grant, you commit to take part in a survey about the stay that you have received support for. You may also be contacted for qualitative interviews. The latter cases will be planned and remunerated separately. The collected data will form part of the joint development work between Norwegian Crafts, the Danish Arts Foundation and Nordic Cultural Fund.

About Norwegian Crafts´ residency committee

As part of Norwegian Crafts' efforts to strengthen our residency opportunities for Norwegian and Norway-based craft artists, duojárat, curators, mediators and researchers, we have established a new committee that will evaluate applications for our residency opportunities. The committee consists of three members, who possess competence as practicing artists or other type of professionals in the field of contemporary crafts and/or duodji.

The committee from 2024–2026 consists of artist and associate professor at Oslo National Academy of the Arts – Department for Art and Craft Trine Wester; curator and mediator Daniela Ramos Arias, who is part of the curatorial team at Hordaland Kunstsenter and co-director of the interdisciplinary space KIOSKEN; and communication officer for the project ReCap ASáp – Regaining capacity in a changing Sápmi at The Saami Council and former consultant for the artist and research residency at Lásságámmi Helene Ajuna Olsen.

A Nordic collaboration

The residency scheme is a part of the initiative Nordic Exchange: Production, Knowledge and Skills, a collaboration between Norwegian Crafts, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Nordic Culture Fund. The initiative aims to establish more residencies across the Nordic region, where craft and design practitioners can gain access to specialised knowledge and skills at production sites. Through mapping and analysing relevant existing production sites in the region, and establishing new residencies, the initiative will support artistic development and innovation.