Open Call: Culture Moves Europe Individual Mobility

The third call for Culture Moves Europe Individual Mobility funding is open from 1 August 2024 to 30 November 2024.

Are you an artist or do you work in the field of culture and would like funding support to carry out a project in another country? Culture Moves Europe offers mobility grants to individual artists and cultural professionals willing to implement a project abroad.

Culture Moves Europe’s call for individual mobility targets artists and cultural professionals working in the following sectors: music, literature, architecture, cultural heritage, design and fashion design, visual arts, and performing arts.

What is the purpose of the funding?

The Individual Mobility Action of Culture Moves Europe provides financial support to artists and cultural professionals who, in collaboration with an international partner (either an organisation or an individual), wish to carry out a mobility project between Creative Europe countries.
Through this action, Culture Moves Europe aims to support artists and cultural professionals in developing their careers internationally, learning and cooperating beyond borders. Applicants are free to choose who they want to work with, as well as the outline and goals of their project.
Grants are calculated for each individual artist and cultural professional based on the project duration, with top-ups for specific needs. The mobility grant contributes to travel costs and daily expenses during the implementation of the project. Through top-ups, additional financial support is granted based on individual needs such as A&CPs living with disabilities, travelling to or from OCTs or ORs, with custody of minors, or using sustainable means of travelling.
In addition to encouraging the inclusion of people from different backgrounds and profiles, this mobility project strives for environmental sustainability by endorsing sustainable practices in mobility projects.
During the selection process, special attention is given to ensure gender, country, and sectoral balance, as well as to include emerging artists and cultural professionals.

Who can apply?

You can apply if:

You are an individual artist or cultural professional, or a group of maximum 5 artists or cultural professionals;
You (and all group members, if applicable) are at least 18 years old;
To apply to Culture Moves Europe, applicants must have a mobility project, which includes three elements: One international partner; One project, One destination.
You (and all group members, if applicable) are legally residing in a Creative Europe Country. Applicant must be a legal resident in one of the 40 Creative Europe countries: Albania, Austria, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Tunisia and Ukraine.
Including the Overseas Countries and Territories and Outermost Regions of the European Union:
Overseas Countries and Territories:
Greenland (Denmark), French Polynesia (France), New Caledonia (France), Saint Barthelemy (France), St. Pierre and
Miquelon (France), Wallis and Futuna Islands (France), Aruba (The Netherlands), Bonaire (The Netherlands), Curaçao (The Netherlands), Saba (The Netherlands), Sint Maarten (The Netherlands), Sint Eustatius (The Netherlands).
Outermost Regions:
French Guiana (France), Guadeloupe (France), Martinique (France), Mayotte (France), Reunion Island (France), Saint Martin (France), Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain).
You will implement a project in another Creative Europe country than your country of residence, together with a person or an entity that has accepted to be your international partner in this country;
Your project covers at least one of the 7 eligible sectors: architecture, cultural heritage, design and fashion design, literature, music, performing arts, and visual arts;
With your project, you will be able to explore, learn, create and/or connect.
You will start your mobility from your country of residence and come back to your country of residence after the project has taken place;
The implementation of your project in the destination country will be 7 days minimum and 60 days maximum for an individual project, or 7 days to 21 days for a group project, excluding travel time, and will be uninterrupted;
The start of your mobility project is not earlier than 60 days from the applicable monthly deadline for which you are applying;
You will implement your project within one year after signature of the grant agreement;
Successful grantees (individual or group leader/member) of the Individual Mobility Action of Culture Moves Europe can only receive a mobility grant once under a new call.

What projects are supported?

Artists and cultural professionals can apply with a proposal to carry out a project with a partner of their choice in a Creative Europe country which is not their country of residence.

The project should pursue two of the following goals:

to explore: to conduct creative and artistic research, to investigate, inspire and work on a specific theme or a new concept
to create: to engage in a creative process seeking to produce a new piece of artistic/cultural work
to learn: to enhance competences and skills through non-formal learning or collaboration with a specialist
to connect: to develop a professional network, to strengthen the professional development, to engage with new audiences

The partner can be, for example, a fellow artist, an organisation or a venue in the country of destination. Applicants must provide proof of collaboration in the application process.

It is possible to apply either as an individual or as a group of up to five people.

Important: Culture Moves Europe mobility grant cannot be used to merely present previously created work. Projects that simply propose, for example, an exhibition or performance of a previously created work will not be considered. Culture Moves Europe, and these grants, exist to encourage creation, exchanges, connections, and fruitful learnings across borders.

Novelties of the third call

Durations

The project duration is the number of days spent in the destination country to implement the project:

between 7 and 40 days for individual projects
between 7 and 14 days for group projects

The implementation of the project in the destination country must be uninterrupted, which means that segmenting the implementation of the project into different periods is not accepted.

The selection of projects is divided into three duration categories and estimated as follows:

Approximately 70% for short-term projects (7 to 14 days)
Approximately 23% for medium-term projects (15 to 21 days)
Approximately 7% for long-term projects (22 to 40 days)

Deadline for project implementation

The earliest start of travel and project implementation is 60 days from the monthly deadline and not before the Culture Moves Europe team receives the signed grant agreement from the selected applicant. All projects must be finalised no later than 30 April 2025. Grantees must submit the activity report up to one month after finishing the project’s implementation.

Virtual and hybrid mobility for applicants with a disability

Artists and cultural professionals with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

Two options are now offered: mobility project or virtual project. Depending on the situation, hybrid mobility project can be agreed with the Culture Moves Europe team.

In these cases, applicants are eligible to receive an accessibility support in addition to the daily allowance.

What does the grant offer?

The grant is composed of a travel allowance, a daily allowance and individual top-ups and support. The grant calculations are made specifically for each grantee, based on their project and personal situation.

Daily allowance

€75 per person per day. It is a contribution to accommodation, food, renting equipment, local transport, etc.

Travel allowance

Travel distance under 5 000 km: €350 per person for round-trip.

Travel distance above 5.000 km: €700 per person for round-trip.

The distance between the participant’s place of residence and the host’s location is calculated automatically in the online application form. Check the distance calculator for more information.

For short distances of under 600 km, travelling by airplane is only allowed in exceptional and well justified cases:

for persons with a disability
for travelling from or to an island with no ferry connections
due to force majeure or grave personal circumstances

Top-ups and support

Green top-up

€350 per person for choosing not to travel by airplane (round-trip). Only applicable for distances of 600 km and more.

Overseas Countries and Territories or Outermost Regions top-up

€150 per person for travelling from or to Overseas Countries and Territories or Outermost Regions.

Visa top-up

€80 per person for expenses related to visa processes.

Family top-up

€100 per person for persons with children below the age of 10. The amount is fixed, regardless of the number of children.

Accessibility support

For people with a disability, to help cover specific extra costs connected to the travel between the place of residence to the destination (and back), and/or the project implementation.

It can be requested for both virtual and mobility project and the budget has to be agreed with the Culture Moves Europe team.

The top-ups can be added cumulatively: one person can receive several top-ups at the same time. Justification and proof for the required top-ups and support will be asked.

What are the selection criteria?

The application will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

What is the applicant(s) goal and why is the mobility relevant?
Is the project adequately planned (with the international partner, duration, etc.)?
What will be the long-term positive impacts of the project?
Is the applicant including environmental sustainability consideration in the mobility project?

Timeline and application process

Culture Moves Europe’s individual mobility action is opening three rolling calls between October 2022 and January 2025.

First call: from 10 October 2022 to 31 May 2023

Second call: from 2 October 2023 to 31 May 2024

Third call: from 1 August 2024 to 30 November 2024

The Call for individual mobility has a monthly deadline on the last day of each month.It means that applications are evaluated, and grants awarded every month.

Based on previous experience, many people wait until the last deadline to submit their applications, which leads to increased competition. Therefore, it is encouraged to send applications for earlier deadlines.

Application Language

All processes of Culture Moves Europe are carried out in English, including application, contract and activity report. However, language skills are not rated in the project evaluation and applicants are welcome to make use of online translation tools.

Reapply

Please note that applicants can only receive one Culture Moves Europe grant under the Individual Mobility Action. If not selected, they can apply again during the next rolling call, but only once per rolling call, despite being part of a group or applying individually. For more information, check our Frequently Asked Questions.

Reporting

Within 30 days after the implementation of the project, grantees must submit the activity report. This is an online questionnaire, clear and straightforward, like the application form.

In the activity report grantees must reflect on their experience and provide some insights about the implementation of their mobility project.

Also, grantees must include documents that prove that the mobility has taken place.

Examples of such proof are: transportation tickets, visa requests, hotel reservations etc., as well as a proof of return to their place of legal residence.

How do I apply?

The application process is simple and straightforward, however, before you apply, please read attentively the call document. There, will find all necessary information.

As the Goethe-Institut is the institution implementing Culture Moves Europe, applications are processed through the Goethe-Application Portal.

In order to apply please follow these steps:

Create an account
Register as an “individual” (even if you are a group)
Select “Culture Moves Europe funding”
Select “Call for Individual Mobility”

Fill out the form. You can save and edit the form until the final submission.

Apply here